McCracken County Courthouse
Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky
Marker Inscription
McCracken County Courthouse. First courthouse on this site finished 1861 and occupied almost immediately by Union Army. Used as a Civil War hospital. Present building erected 1940-43 with help of Works Progress Administration. Total cost of courthouse $344,919. Marker presented by McCracken County Civic Beautification Board. Over. (Reverse) McCracken County Courthouse 1825 - First courthouse built of logs at Wilmington. 1832 - County seat moved to Paducah. Courthouse at Second and Ky. 1861 - First courthouse at this site, then at edge of town. 1943 - Present building occupied. Marker presented by McCracken County Civic Beautification Board. Over
Erected by Kentucky Historical Society
The Story
The first courthouse on this site was completed in 1861, just as the Civil War began, and was quickly occupied by the Union Army and pressed into service as a military hospital. Paducah's county government had moved here from Wilmington decades earlier, and the present courthouse was built with Works Progress Administration help between 1940 and 1943. The story of the site traces McCracken County's growth from a log courthouse to a New Deal–era public building.
Why it matters
The courthouse ties together two defining chapters of American history—the Civil War in a contested border state and the federal public-works programs of the Great Depression.
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Themes & tags
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