- Putnam County Courthouse (New York)
Infobox nrhp
name = Putnam County Courthouse
nrhp_type =
caption = Front (west) elevation, 2006
lat_degrees = 41
lat_minutes = 25
lat_seconds = 34.8
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 73
long_minutes = 40
long_seconds = 43
long_direction = W
location = Carmel, NY
nearest_city = Danbury, CT
area = convert|0.5|acre|m2cite web|last=Gobrecht|first=Lawrence|title=National Register of Historic Places nomination, Putnam County Courthouse|url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=7221|publisher=New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation |date=1976-03-23|accessdate=2008-08-04]
built = 1814, renovated 1847
architect = James Townsend
architecture = Classical Revival
designated =
added = 1976
established =
visitation_num =
visitation_year =
refnum = 76001264
mpsub =
governing_body = Putnam CountyNew York 's Putnam County Courthouse is located on Gleneida Avenue (NY 52) across from the eastern terminus of NY 301 in downtown Carmel, thecounty seat , overlookingLake Gleneida . First built in 1814, two years after the county itself was established, it remains in use and is the second-oldest county courthouse still in use in the state.In 1847 it was renovated extensively. At that time the Classical Revival
portico andcolumn s were added. Architect James Townsend used commercially available (although inexact) copies of the Corinthian capitals from the Monument of Lysicrates inAthens . For this and its historic importance in the county's history it was added to theNational Register of Historic Places in 1976.Building
The courthouse is a two-story, 5-by-8-bay rectangular
gable -roofed frame building, with clapboard siding on the north and south sides and horizontalplank s on its west (front) facade. Thepediment ed gable is supported by the four Corinthian columns, behind which is the main entrance, with molded classical detail. Similar ornamentation can be found on the windowlintel s. The two front corners have largepilaster s; the original stoneplinth blocks have been replaced withconcrete copies and theastragal s taken down to help preventdry rot in the columns.The stone walls of the original county
jail are still visible on the south side. A two-bay east wing, added later, extends from the rear. Acupola is atop the roof.History
After the
New York state legislature divided Putnam County from Dutchess to its north in 1812, it required the creation of two courts. They held trials in Carmel'sBaptist meeting house until a courthouse could be built. After three months, one state legislator who had voted for Putnam County's creation, Robert Weeks, sold it a one-half acre (2,000 m²) lot in the middle of Carmel.A local builder and iron miner, James Townsend, was hired for the job. He finished it two years later for just under $4,000, using some of his locally mined ironwork, which still remains in the jail section. It opened for court on
February 15 ,1815 .The county grew, and by the 1840s the original courthouse could not handle its workload. Officials initially decided to build a second one in Cold Spring, at the other end of the road that became Route 301, on the
Hudson River where much of the county's population was (and is). But adeed restriction in the original land acquisition forbade the county from building its courthouse anywhere but the original land, and so the existing courthouse was renovated and expanded into today's structure. The Corinthian column capitals, popular in pattern books of the time, were likely carved in New York City and shipped to Carmel, as they were for many other buildings in the lower and mid-Hudson where similar capitals have been found.In 1855 another jail wing was built to replace the one on the northeast corner. The county sheriff began living in the building at this time, and it became a tradition for his wife to cook food for the jail inmates. Another jail wing was built in 1907.Cite web|title=9th JD - Putnam County|url=http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/9jd/Putnam/countyhistory.shtml|publisher=9th Judicial District, New York State Unified Court System|date=2004|accessdate=2008-08-04]
A fire in 1924 destroyed most of the upper story, but it was rebuilt to its original appearance. Repairs could do nothing about the building's age, however, and by the later 20th century some degradation was becoming apparent. The sheriffs and their wives moved out in 1966, and eleven years later the jail itself was closed. In December 1988, it was closed for repairs, ending 174 years of continuous use.
The repairs took six years, longer than expected, due to many problems encountered during the process. Since it reopened in 1994, it has been home to two of the county's judges and their chambers. The old jail cells have been used mainly as storage space. A newer, more modern court facility was built behind the Putnam County Office Building and opened January 2, 2008.
Although the new County Courthouse opened in 2008, the Historic Courthouse is still used for the Surrogates Court and the main courtroom is also used as the legislative chambers of the Putnam County Legislature.
References
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