It’s a common problem for a weekend adventurer. You find yourself standing outside a really cool public building and you’re dying to see inside but the doors are locked. It’s the weekend, after all. County courthouses are buildings I ALWAYS want to see inside and rarely have the opportunity. 

For example, I have stood outside the Guernsey County, Ohio Courthouse more times than I can count and, until a few months ago, never had a chance to see inside. But I did get to peek inside on my way home from Pittsburgh one gloomy December Monday. 

I have actually spent a lot of time studying the facade of this building after dark and during the holidays. You see, this courthouse presides over Cambridge, a town that transforms itself during the holidays by adding life sized Dickens style characters in vignettes along the streets. They also are known for a nightly music and light show on the front of the courthouse every night during the holidays. It is a festive and exciting way to embrace the Christmas season. 

Like other Ohio courthouses, there is one public entrance that’s monitored by a county sheriff’s deputy. Of course, it was the last entrance that I tried but that allowed me the opportunity to walk around the whole building. When the deputy asked me to state my business and I told him I was there because I like old buildings, he waved me through without a word.

Since it was December, the inside was decorated for Christmas. Since I was there at lunchtime, there were people cleaning but no office employees or members of the public to be seen. In other words, I had the place to myself and that was lovely. 

The woodwork, hand painted transoms, floor tile, and bones of the building feel mainly untouched since the building was dedicated in 1883. The rich red, grey, black and tan tilework is the star of the show but there are some lovely small things that many people likely take for granted including some gorgeous details on the door knobs.

I was dying to see inside the courtroom but it was locked for lunch and I had to settle for a peek through the door window. 

It’s interesting because the building has clearly been kept and cared for but you can also see signs where someone, likely some county commissioners, have done what they could with what they had by placing a counter here or a sign there that look too modern. They stick out like a sore thumb. This isn’t a criticism so much as a notation that this is the way the world works especially when budgets take precedence over doing something well.  We may preserve the old and care for it but the way we live with a historic building isn’t necessarily cohesive with the building itself. 

But time marches on, money matters, and this just means that Guernsey County is like everyone else. I’m sure they’re doing their best. 

If you ask me, Guernsey County has one of the most impressive and most beautiful courthouse exteriors in Ohio. The building is made of sandstone. It’s large and imposing as it presides over downtown and the National Road. A statue of Lady Justice keeps watch from above the former main entrance and a clock tower keeps the rhythm of passing time for usa lll. If you’re driving through and get a chance to stop and appreciate the exterior, you should absolutely do that. If you can get inside someday, do that too.

And here’s one more lesson for us all. If given the choice between admiring from the street or parking the car and going in for a closer look, always take the closer look. Lady Justice is more impressive when you are standing close to the building. All that outstanding tilework inside isn’t visible from the street but it’s a work of art deserving of someone to stop and study it. 

Want to see more pictures? Hop over to the Make The Journey Fun Facebook page. I’ll post more there!