Old Court House

ID: 2579 ~ Source: Courtesy of the Kentucky Historical Society [Image Source: https://kyhistory.com/digital/collection/PH/id/10668/rec/2] ~ Creator: J.T. Keckley & Co.

This file appears in: Courthouse Square and Mechanics’ Row Historic District

There have been several court houses built in Old Washington/Maysville, Kentucky. This image depicts the first, the courthouse where Harriet Beecher Stowe witnessed the sale of enslaved people. It was destroyed by fire in 1909. The current county courthouse is part of the historic district. It was erected in 1844 and was originally intended to be used as a city hall.

This file appears in: Courthouse Square and Mechanics’ Row Historic District

Courthouse Square and Mechanics’ Row Historic District

By Joanna E. Hahn

The first courthouse in what was then Washington, Kentucky (now part of Maysville) often was the site of auctions of enslaved Black individuals on the courthouse grounds. In 1833, while visiting one of her students, Harriet Beecher Stowe took a walk…