413 Second St.--Warren County Courthouse

Warren County was separated from Sussex County in 1824 and its new court was held at Belvidere on the second Tuesday in February 1925. But the county needed to officially decide on the location of a county seat. To cement Belvidere as the obvious choice against Hope, Washington, and Oxford Furnace, landowner Garrett D. Wall offered plots of land for public buildings and a park for $1 and a subscription of $1000 to help build the courthouse. Belvidere was handily voted to be the Warren County Seat, and a 40'x60' two-story brick courthouse was built in 1826.

It has been the location of many famous trials and historical events, including highly publicized hangings, when thousands of people would descend on the town. For one such hanging, tar was painted on tree trunks to discourage climbers, and several young men sitting on a barn roof nearby found themselves under debris from the collapsed roof.

The building was modified in 1959-60 to its present configuration. You can see the original courthosue as the modest two story wings projecting from the more recent, and grander, center portico. Also, note how the building's expansion over two centuries was inspired by the original.