BlockBefore

Simpson County Courthouse

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

From the record

“The Simpson County Courthouse, also known as the Old Simpson County Courthouse, is a building in Franklin, Kentucky located on US 31W and Kentucky Route 73. The courthouse was built in 1882 and was used as a courthouse until the completion of the new Franklin Justice Center in 2004.”

Wikipedia article Simpson County Courthouse (Kentucky), CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 14 National Register listings published here for Simpson County · listed in 1980 · category: Building.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. KY 73, Franklin, 42134
  • When was it listed? March 1980
  • Category. building
  • Census division. Franklin
  • Architect. McDonald Brothers
  • National Register reference number. 80001668 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

2 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 2 fires within 5 miles of Simpson County Courthouse between 2005 and 2007, burning about 36 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
12 November 2005Missing data/not specified/undetermined6.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
13 October 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined30 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named

Every fire recorded in Simpson County

Storms near this property

60 of 94 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Franklin, the town this property stands in, in 94 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 63 thunderstorm wind, 16 flash flood, 12 hail, 2 flood. The reports record 1 death and 11 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2009FloodFranklin1 killedA 49-year old male drove a pickup truck around barriers and attempted to cross Dittmore Ford over Drakes Creek, which was covered by four to five feet of water. He called 911 from his cell phone, but drowned in his vehicle.
May 2015Thunderstorm WindFranklin6 hurt, $1,000A report was received by the public of a tree down at the Simpson County courthouse during a Relay for Life event. Six people experienced minor injuries and the nearby Kentucky Mesonet site measured a 54 mph wind gust.
September 2013LightningFranklin5 hurt, $15,000Broadcast media reported 5 injuries from a lightning strike that ended the afternoon racing card at the Kentucky Downs racetrack. Lightning hit a tin pole and traveled down to the ground, shocking 5 people sheltering within a tent. One was transported to a hospital. The racing board was shorted out with racing cancelled for the rest of the afternoon.
June 1994Thunderstorm WindFranklin$50,000Trees and power lines were blown down in Franklin and surrounding area.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindFranklin$35,000State officials reported trees down on a truck and house at 421 Hendricks Street.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindFranklin$15,000Multiple trees and power lines came down around Franklin, KY.
March 2019Thunderstorm WindFranklin$10,000The emergency manager reported siding had been stripped off of a garage and blown in to a nearby field.
July 2015Flash FloodFranklin$10,000A law enforcement official reported that a water rescue from a flooded car occurred.
November 2000Thunderstorm WindFranklin$10,000no account filed
May 2005Thunderstorm WindFranklin$5,000There was unspecified structural damage to a mobile home.
November 2005Thunderstorm WindFranklin$5,000A carport was blown down. Trees and power lines were downed.
January 1999Thunderstorm WindFranklin$3,000Porches blown off homes, water tower barn blown down, several trees and power lines down
December 2013Thunderstorm WindFranklin$2,000The Simpson County emergency manager reported several trees down in Franklin, including one that blocked Gold City Road. A storm front window was broken on Main Street. Power outages were reported as well.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindFranklin$1,000The Simpson County emergency manager reported a fallen tree that downed a power line in Franklin on Pepper Street.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindFranklin$1,000Local broadcast media reported two trees down. Some shingles were blown off the roof of a resident near the intersection of Highway 31 and Patton Road.
April 2026Flash FloodFranklin-North College Street was impassable due to high water.
April 2026Thunderstorm WindFranklin-A very large tree was down over the 900 block of Rapids Road.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindFranklin-A large tree limb was blown down behind a home in Franklin.
February 2025Flash FloodFranklin-Flood waters submerged portions of US Route 31W on the north side of Franklin.
December 2025Thunderstorm WindFranklin-A tree was blown down onto the road near the intersection of Filter Plant Road and Scottsville Road in Franklin.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindFranklin-Trees were downed at the intersection of West Cedar Street and John J Johnson Avenue in Franklin.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindFranklin-Trees were downed at the intersection of U.S. Route 31W and Industrial Drive in Franklin.
May 2024Flash FloodFranklin-Two water rescues had to be performed and multiple roads were closed across Simpson County due to flash flooding.
May 2023Thunderstorm WindFranklin-Several trees and power lines were blown down by strong winds in and around Franklin.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindFranklin-There were several trees and power lines down on roadways in Franklin.
January 2022Thunderstorm WindFranklin-Damage was reported at the intersection of Morgantown Road and Winston Lane. Some trees were uprooted, and large branches were snapped. Area homes had shingle and antenna damage.
August 2022Thunderstorm WindFranklin-There were more than 20 trees and power lines down across Jim Roberts Community Park. A barn was destroyed just north of the park along Ditmore Ford Road.
September 2022Thunderstorm WindFranklin-Trees were reported down on Gold City Road near Franklin.
September 2022Flash FloodFranklin-Flooding occurred on North Main Street in Franklin, resulting in the temporary closure of the road.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindFranklin-Power lines were down on the 800 block of Blackjack Road.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindFranklin-Trees and power lines were down across Simpson County.
February 2019Flash FloodFranklin-Kentucky 2592 at Highway is impassable due to flooding. Highway 73 is still open.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindFranklin-A large tree was down on Main Street and Kentucky Avenue.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindFranklin-A tree was on the roadway on the 100 block of Roark Road.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindFranklin-A tree was reported down on Gold City Road near Roark Road.
April 2018Thunderstorm WindFranklin-Simpson County emergency manager reported a few trees down in the area.
May 2018Thunderstorm WindFranklin-There were power lines down in Franklin.
September 2017Flash FloodFranklin-The Simpson County Emergency Manager reported numerous roads closed with other roads impassable due to high water. The Simpson County Schools were closed due to flooding.
April 2016Thunderstorm WindFranklin-The Simpson County emergency manager reported a large tree fell, blocking Morgantown Road just north of Patton Road.
June 2016Flash FloodFranklin-Local law enforcement reported Roark Road impassable due to high water.
June 2016Flash FloodFranklin-Local law enforcement reported that Wittland Road was under water and impassable due to high water.
June 2016Flash FloodFranklin-Local law enforcement reported the 1300 block of East Madison Street was flooded due to high water.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindFranklin-The Simpson County emergency manager reported trees and power lines down at Sportsman Lake Road and Akin Avenue.
July 2016Flash FloodFranklin-Trained spotters reported numerous roads across the county flooded and impassable.
July 2016Flash FloodFranklin-A trained spotter reported swiftly moving water 3 to 6 inches deep across roadways.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindFranklin-Local law enforcement reported trees down in Franklin.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindFranklin-Local law enforcement reported trees down across the county including Turnertown Road and Elliott Road.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindFranklin-A trained spotter reported several large trees down in and around Franklin.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindFranklin-Trained spotters reported large trees down in the area. Also, some county roads were impassable due to high water.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindFranklin-State officials reported trees down on Sunset Circle.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindFranklin-Trees were reported down on the 100 block of Russell Street.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindFranklin-A Kentucky department of highways official reported that a tree was down on Adams Road north of Franklin.
July 2015Flash FloodFranklin-A law enforcement official reported several roads flooded due to intense rainfall rates and excessive amounts of rain from slow moving thunderstorms.
June 2013HailFranklin-A spotter reported that hail up to 2 inches in diameter covered the ground just to the east of Franklin. This hail came from a supercell that earlier had produced an EF-2 tornado well west of Franklin.
January 2013FloodFranklin-A county official reported that low water crossings along three roads near Franklin were closed due to high water.
January 2012Thunderstorm WindFranklin-Local media reported numerous power outages across the county.
March 2012HailFranklin-Another report of 1 inch hail came from nearly the same location.
August 2012Thunderstorm WindFranklin-A spotter estimated a 60 mph wind gust in Franklin.
August 2012Thunderstorm WindFranklin-Simpson County emergency management reported that two trees and some power lines were downed along State Highway 100 just to the west of Franklin.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindFranklin-A tree was blown down on Morgantown Rd.

Every storm recorded in Simpson County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Franklin Downtown Commercial Districtunder 500 feet1983
Goodnight House0.1 miles1977
Duncan House0.1 miles1982
Franklin Downtown Commercial District (Boundary Increase)0.1 miles1983
Hargis House0.2 miles1996
Randolph Gilbert Moore House0.4 miles1996

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 80001668 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Simpson CountyAll 14 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.