Traveling north out of Salt Lake City, the first courthouse is Davis County in Farmington.

An old but very well preserved courthouse, it still operates for the state court system.

The History of the Davis County Courthouse

First Davis County Courthouse (Knowlton, Brief Histroy of Farmington) On March 3, 1852, the Territorial Legislature created Davis County and named Farmington the county seat. The first County Court (now the Board of Commissioners) met on March 22, 1852. The Court instructed the County Clerk in June, 1853, "to make out three draughts (blueprints) of a County Court House to be presented at the next general election." Utah's first courthouse, the two-story adobe building (photo) was built on a rocky knoll on the south side of State Street in Farmington. It contained three jury rooms, three offices, a hall and a courtroom. In 1861, an east room was secured for a jail. A new privy was built in 1862. In 1867, handcuffs and a ball and chain were purchased, and an iron jail cage was installed in the northeast corner room. After a new courthouse was constructed, Mrs. Aurelia S. Rogers was granted use of the upper room for holding a children's Primary Fair in September, 1890. The old facility was then demolished and Farmington's Main Street extended south where the building had stood.

Second Davis County Courthouse (Utah State Historical Society) The Davis County Court (Commission) approved the construction of a new courthouse in a special session on May 20, 1889. Plans by Kaysville architect, William Allen, were approved in July, and the building contract was awarded to E. B. Tyson for $11,100 in the August court session. A protest petition from John G. M. Barnes and 150 others was tabled "as being too late to do anything about it." "After making acid tests on brick, it was ordered that the contractor for the new Court House use Mr. Samuel Ward's brick in the erection of the same." Mr. Ward's brickyard was located on the Mountain Road east of Kaysville. C. W. Richardson, bondsman, took over construction of the new courthouse in June, 1890 when the contractor failed to complete his contract. The new building was completed on August 18, 1890.

Third Davis County Courthouse (Utah State Historical Society) Davis County Commissioners announced plans in 1929 to enlarge the county courthouse. An initial Renaissance design with a turret corner entrance was replaced by a more traditional plan featuring a classical Grecian portico supported by six Ionian columns. The renovation utilized all the rooms of the original 1890 facility, removing its tall tower and adding east and west wings. A lawsuit filed by some disgruntled citizens failed to stop construction, and the $60,425 project was completed in 1932. A 1957-58 addition doubled the courthouse and another large addition to the southern side was completed in 1979. A 1997 renovation removed the ceiling installed in the front entry hall during the 1932 construction, revealing the original 1890 ornate ceiling, now lighted with antique electrical fixtures.

As with many courthouses throughout the country, it has a monument to veterans. In Davis County, it is a beautiful stained glass window with the names of the Veterans.

Next up the road is the Weber County Courthouse in Ogden. This is it. Seriously! OK, this is not the only horse in town, but what is the deal?

A bit further north in Brigham City is the Box Elder County Courthouse. This is a very historic building, and still houses the county offices.

Sitting at the head of Forester Street, the courthouse looks out to the west and can be seen for miles approaching from the west.

The beautifully preserved clock tower dome is one of the most striking features of this building.

Box Elder County Courthouse Main & Forest streets

The County Courthouse was begun in 1855 or 1856, the first public building in Brigham City. As soon as the basement walls were built and windows and doors installed, a temporary roof was added so it could be used for meetings and theatrical productions.

By 1857, two stories of adobe brick were built, but before the walls were finished, a strong wind blew some of them down. These walls were then rebuilt, and the building was completed before the end of 1857. Lorenzo Snow asked builder James Pett to install a roof that would stay. He accomplished this without nails, using wooden pegs and horse hide.

As the only public building, it was used for drama, religious services, recreation, and school as well as for city and county meetings and business.

Simeon D. Carter Jr. attended school there and told his family about it. His daughter wrote: "Father often told us of the furnishing of the school room in the court house where he went to school and Sunday School. It consisted of long slab seats without backs, and the legs made of rough boards stuck through the holes bored in the slab. One long slab was hinged to the wall for the desk, where the boys and girls went to practice penmanship. They laboriously followed a copy, set by the teacher, at the top of long sheets of 'foolscap' paper. Chidlren from the ABC class to the grown girls and boys were all in the same classroom."

In the early 1870s a large bell in the Courthouse tower signaled work time, lunch time, and quitting time for the Brigham Cooperative enterprises. It was also a fire bell.

In 1883 Peter F. Madsen, Probate Judge of Box Elder County, had the Courthouse renovated and had trees and shrubs planted.

A major remodeling in 1910 completely changed the courthouse's appearance. A large section extended the front of the building, and stone columns and a new tower were added. The original building became the rear wing.

District Court and judicial chambers were housed in the courthouse until the summer of 1994 when they moved to a new building. All county government departments remain in the courthouse at present.

The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

The new First District Court building is located across Main Street slightly north of the old one.

Moving further north up into Cache Valley, the courthouse in Logan is also very striking.

The courthouse was constructed in 1882-83, replacing a frame county building on the same site. Plans were drawn by architect Truman O. Angell, Jr.,(the original architect of the Salt Lake Tabernacle who's plans didn't work and ended up being replaced by my Great Great Grandfather Henry Grow), and the contract was let to the United Order Manufacturing and Building Company of the LDS Church's Logan Second Ward. Local materials were used for all but the finishing touches. An addition was built on the rear c. 1905, and two wings were added to the front in 1917, expanding the building to its present size.