2012 Day Trip: Oregon, IL / Ogle County Courthouse and Historic District

Ogle County Courthouse and Historic District.

The building stands on a public square in the city’s downtown commercial district.

The current structure was completed in 1891,
and was preceded by two other buildings, one of which was destroyed by a group of outlaws.

Designed by Chicago architect George O. Garnsey in the Romanesque Revival style of architecture.
The ridged roof is dominated by its wooden cupola which stands out at a distance.

The Ogle County Courthouse is a National Register of Historic Places listing.

Ogle County Courthouse and Historic District

The current structure was completed in 1891 having been preceded by two other buildings. Following the destruction of the first courthouse by the “Prairie Bandits” in 1841, the county was without a judicial building for a period of time during the 1840s. The present edifice was designed by Chicago architect George O. Garnsey in the Romanesque Revival style of architecture. The ridged roof is dominated by its wooden cupola which can be seen from a distance. Through the years the courthouse has undergone extensive restoration inside and out in order to maintain its original integrity. In 1981 the courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The courthouse no longer serves as the primary judiciary center for the count; its successor is located directly to the west.

Several thousands of men from Ogle County served in the Civil War and their names are listed on Lorado Taft’s impressive 1916 Soldiers’ Monument on the Courthouse Square. Two cannons installed at the front of the courthouse in the late 1890s also honor Civil War veterans. Memorials have been added to honor Ogle County soldiers who served in World Wars I and II, Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf.