Shiawassee County Courthouse

Shiawassee County officials selected Jackson, Michigan-based architect Claire Allen to design their new county courthouse in 1903. Allen had previously designed the Gratiot, Hillsdale, and Van Buren county courthouses in Michigan and was a well-known regional architect. Construction began in September 1903 with George Rickman's Sons of Kalamazoo serving as the general contractor. The cornerstone for the new building was laid with great ceremony on May 4, 1904. The courtrooms were dedicated and opened for business in December 1905.

The three-story courthouse is built with Bedford limestone, and has a monumental portico framed by four Corinthian columns topped with a closed pediment. A three-tiered clock tower crowns the building and is visible for miles. The focal point of the interior is the rotunda that opens through the second and third floors to the tower, with a glass-block floor. The building cost $75,000 to complete and another $66,000 to furnish. The cost of the courthouse generated considerable controversy and criticism of the building committee.

Architect Claire Allen (1853-1942) was based in Jackson, Michigan, where he was the designer of many schools and public buildings. He also designed courthouses for Gratiot, Hillsdale, and Van Buren counties in Michigan. At least buildings of his design are listed in the National Register of Historic Places, including the Shiawassee County Courthouse.

In an effort to maintain the building as a historic monument as well as a working government office, county officials renovated the courthouse in 1981 and again in 2008-2009.

National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, Shiawassee County Courthouse, listed 1982.

"For a New Courthouse: The People Gave the Proposition a Generous Vote - The Majority Reaches Over 3,600," Corunna Journal, April 9, 1903, p.1.

"Court House Contract Let," Corunna Journal, August 20, 1903, p.1.

"Plans of the Courthouse: The One Adopted by the County Board of Supervisors," Corunna Journal, June 11, 1903, p.1.

Shiawassee County Illustrated. Corunna, Mich.: Corunna Journal, 1905.

"The Corner Stone Placed," Corunna Journal, May 5, 1904, p.1.

"Courtroom in Shiawassee's New Courthouse Dedicated," Detroit Free Press, December 31, 1905, p.15.

"Formally Dedicated," Flint Journal, January 2, 1906, p.7.

Morrison, Julie. "Renovation of Shiawassee County Courthouse Modernizes Building While Safeguarding Historic Feel," Flint Journal, January 27, 2009.

Shackman, Grace. "The Architect Allen," Michigan History Magazine, 95:3 (May-June 2011), pp.20-22.