Thurston County Courthouses Through History

This story map describes the history of courthouses in Thurston County.  

Image Attribution: E.S. Glover, 1879 Bird’s Eye View of Olympia, General Map Collection, accessed via Digital Archives. 

Thurston County was established on January 12, 1852 when this area was still part of Oregon Territory. Olympia was made the permanent county seat in December 1852.

Territorial Courthouses

After Washington became a separate Territory in 1853, district court judges, appointed by the President of the United States, held court in Olympia at various locations.

Thurston County did not have a permanent courthouse location for many years. The Commissioners apparently met in local leased buildings for the auditor or clerk in downtown Olympia.

In the 1860s, the county acquired the former home of Puget Sound Wesleyan Institute which was built about 1858 and is a large Greek Revival style Building. Originally located at Union and Washington, it still stands one block southeast of this site. The building was the home of an early Methodist-affiliated college started by Daniel Bigelow and other interested parties as a subscription institution. It was sold to the county for $1000 in 1862 and then “fitted up” for a courthouse by Benjamin Harned, a local carpenter (see J. C. Rathbun, History of Thurston County, Olympia, WA 1895, Shorey Book Store Facsimile Reproduction, 1972,pg. 43 (hereafter Rathbun). Link is to full on-line text at archive.org)

There are also some accounts and newspaper references to court being held in the Olympia Town Hall and Fire Station (Columbia Hall) built in 1869 near 4^th and Washington. (Rathbun, p 58)

In 1875, the county commissioners determined to trade properties with the City of Olympia, swapping the former Puget Sound Wesleyan Institute building for a school house located near the city jail, at the northwest corner of Legion Way and Franklin Street. 

Local historian J.C. Rathbun noted, “In August [1878] the old district schoolhouse on Franklin Street was remodeled to accommodate the district court, the lower story being used for the clerk’s office and jury rooms and the second story for a court room.” (Rathbun, page 72)

It appears from available records that the county used this building until 1892 when the new courthouse (now the Old Capitol) was built.

Statehood Courthouses

When Washington became a state in 1889, a modern trial court system was established with the Superior Court as the trial court of general jurisdiction and Justice of the Peace Courts with limited jurisdiction.

Designed by Architect Willis Ritchie, the 1892 courthouse is a Richardson Romanesque style, popular at the time for public buildings. The county occupied the building just east of Sylvester Park until it was sold to the state in 1901 for a capitol building.

The state added the east wing to the building. Gutted by fire in 1928, the clock tower was removed and the building was further damaged in the 1949 earthquake. Completely renovated in the early 1980s, it is currently offices for the Superintendent of Public Instruction and is listed on the National Register.

After the sale of the 1892 building to the state, the county operated temporarily from the McKenny Block at 4^th Avenue and Capitol Way.

A new courthouse was completed in 1902 at 4^th Avenue and Washington Street. Designed by the architectural firm of Saunders & Lawton and constructed by local builder Charles Patnude, it featured rusticated Tenino sandstone and served as the courthouse until 1930. The building was later razed. Sunday Olympian, April 20, 1941, pg. 12.

Noted local architect Joseph Wohleb designed the 1930 Courthouse in an Art Moderne style on Capitol Way. The building boasts Alaskan marble on the interior and a Tenino sandstone exterior. Vacant for many years and renovated in the 1991, it is now state offices and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Officially opened in June 1978, this courthouse stands on what was historically “Mottman Hill.” The multi-building design features contributions from three local architectural firms—Building 1, Elected Officials and Administration designed by Falter-Masini Architects; Building 2, Superior Court, designed by Flotree-Sogge Architects ; and Building 3, District Court, originally Corrections and Sheriff’s Office designed by Bob Selenes of BJSS Architects who also provided the master plan for the site. Information from Steve Masini, Bob Selenes and Flotree-Sogge historic files.

The Thurston County Juvenile Department and Youth Center Building located on Irving Street in Tumwater was built in 1973 in a modern design by Steven Johnson of BJSS Architects. It housed Juvenile Court and associated functions until the new facility opened in the late 1990s. The building is now private offices. Information from BJSS Partner.

 

 

The Juvenile Detention and Family and Juvenile Court Building in Tumwater was designed by Edward Schilter, BJSS Architects and KMD Architects. It was opened in 1998 and was the first facility in the state to have all family and juvenile courts in a combined single location, separate from other Superior Court operations. Information from dedication plaque and Ed Schilter.