Historic Burlington, KY

Historic Burlington, KY. The New County Seat. , Boone County Courthouses Through the Years , 1n 1817, Boone County replaced its first log courthouse with a brick structure, which was remodeled in 1828 and again in 1878. The present courthouse was built in 1889 for $19,740. The courthouse was built by the McDonald Brothers, a Louisville architectural firm that designed courthouses in states as far south as Texas. As completed, the building was predominately Renaissance Revival in style with a cruciform plan and imposing clock tower. The original clock tower proved too heavy for the building and was removed in 1898. The replacement cupola that crowns the building to this day was designed by the renowned Cincinnati architects Samual Hannaford and Son., Timeline of Key Developments , 1799: Boone County Established, Craig’s Camp chosen site of county seat , 1801: Wilmington platted as county seat , 1814: Boone Academy established , 1816: Town renamed Burlington , 1817: First brick courthouse built , 1818: Burlington Bank incorporated , 1819 Burlington Library Company incorporated , 1834: New jail completed , c. 1834: Renaker House built , 1852: Jail destroyed by fire , 1854: Jail replaced, Clerk’s Office completed , 1878: Courthouse remodeled , 1889: Present courthouse built , 1898: Courthouse tower replaced , 1924 Burlington town charter expires , 1928: 1854 jail replaced , 1959: Old Courthouse Annex built , 1979: Burlington National Register Historic District created , 1981: Boone County Administration Building completed , 2003: Boone County Justice Center Center completed. , , Right Side Photo Captions (top to bottom) , 2003: Boone County Justice Center completed Nathaniel E. Riddell succeeded Perry Cason as Boone County Judge in 1920 and held the office until his death in 1942. The office of County Judge was created by the Kentucky Constitution of 1850. For much of the 20th Century, the office was held by four long-serving men: Cason, Riddell, Carroll, Cropper, and Bruce Ferguson. , Glenrose Williams became Kentucky’s first woman Sheriff when Judge Carroll Cropper appointed her in 1944. Irvin Rouse served as her deputy. For 15 months, Glenrose carried out the duties of the county sheriff: law enforcement, tax collection, service to the county, and election duties. , County Clerk Asa McMullen and his assistant Mark Cook are shown here seated in their office in the 1889 courthouse. The county clerk was responsible for maintaining the official county records, taxes, voter registration, and elections, and the issuance of marriage and other licenses. , Charles A. Fowler served as Boone County Jailer from 1917 to 1929, long before the Kentucky Jail Standards were adopted in 1984. In his day, the jailer and his family typically lived above or next to the jail and the entire family helped out.