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(Photograph by Curtis B. Johnson, C. B. Johnson Photography)
Despite subsequent changes, this oldest courthouse in operation in Vermont is exem plary of a format common in the state since the late eighteenth century. Consistent with its lineage, it has a five-bay gable front surmounted by a cupola and marked by windows that indicate a main floor and a rear upper gallery. Tall single window openings on the sides reveal the full-height courtroom space that dominates the interior.
This is the second courthouse built here; its predecessor was incorporated into the Equinox complex (BE6). The courthouse's 1822 date is evident in such Federal features as brick masonry, recessed arched panels framing the first floor and side windows, and the elliptical fanlight over the door. In 1849 the courthouse was extended in length and given a Greek Revival update. The heavy entablature, flush-board pediment, and the flush boarding, simple pilasters, and entablatures of the two-stage, convex-roofed bell tower are all evidence of that modernization.