Old Courthouse / Sheriff's Residence & Jail : 1857 to Today

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Background

The first courthouse, constructed of wood, was built approximately where the Sentinel Monument is now located in the Woodstock Square Park. The sheriff’s office, living quarters, and jail were on the first floor, while the courtroom occupied the second floor. By the mid-1850s, the courthouse proved be too small for the rapidly growing county and a new, larger courthouse was needed.

The County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution in 1855 approving the donation of the original wood courthouse and two acres of land to the Village of Woodstock on the condition that the Village donated land on the western side of the square for the purpose of constructing a new courthouse. At a cost of $47,000 (approx. value of ~$1.6 million in 2023), the new courthouse was built of brick to reduce the risk of fire and was completed in 1858. Not long after, the Sheriff’s Residence and Jail was built in 1887, just to the north of the courthouse.

Over time, both of these buildings have become inextricably linked to the City of Woodstock's identity.

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