Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. 7 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1907.
From the record
“The Madison County Courthouse is a historic Second Empire style courthouse located in London, Ohio. Constructed in 1892, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on March 14, 1973.”
Wikipedia article Madison County Courthouse (Ohio), CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 9 National Register listings published here for Madison County · listed in 1973 · category: Building.
Architectural style. Second Empire architecture in the United States and Canada
Architect. George H. Maetzel
National Register reference number.73001504- 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.
Mines and
quarries near this property
1 within 5 miles
Regional context, not property-specific
evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists
1 working within 5 miles of Madison County Courthouse: 1 past producer.
None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the
map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring
settlement's page as well.
Regional context, not property-specific
evidence. The National Weather Service names
London, the town this property stands in, in 55 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 33 thunderstorm wind, 15 hail, 4 flood, 1 lightning.
No death or injury is recorded in these reports. 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.
The tornado developed near State Route 665, east of London, and moved to the east-northeast. The tornado initially caused minor tree and structural damage, including a tipped over trailer. It then strengthened as it crossed Spring Valley Road and then across Glade Run Road, where it peaked in intensity as it crossed Wilson Road. At this location, a home lost part of its roof and tree damage was considerable, with snapped|off trunks. Damage in this area was consistent with wind speeds of around 110 mph.||The tornado continued across West Jefferson-Klousville Road and then onward to Olmstead Road. Additional damage meeting the EF1 category was found along Roberts Road, just southeast of Plain City Georgesville Road. The tornado then entered Franklin County at 0525EST, about 1.5 miles east-southeast of West Jefferson. It continued east-northeast for about 3 more miles before ending just before reaching Alton Hall Elementary School at 0528EST.
Two barns were knocked down and wires were reported down near Highway 40. Trees were also reported down in the area. These occurrences were due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
1 paper published in this town,
digitised by the Library of Congress and free to read. Every page is searchable, so a name or a street can be
looked for directly in what the town printed about itself at the time.
United States Geological Survey topographic
sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then
testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.
When this property was proposed for the
National Register, someone wrote the case for it: what the building is,
and why it matters. That document is a federal record in the public domain.
It is quoted below word for word, never summarised. The text was read off the scanned case file by machine, so the
occasional stray character is the recogniser's and the 1970s
typewriter's.
Description of the property
C.H. Maetzel, and was built by Doerzbach and Decker, contractors. Empire style courthouse in Ohio. In general, its appearance tower continues with four clocks, one facing each direction. roof. In addition, on the south side, above the lower pediment period. Massive, earved columns, paneling and wainscoting square, and are of a multitude of colors. It is indeed fortunate The entire building is, in fact, one of the most tastefully 1890. MAR61973 CONDITION Moved REGISTER NATIONAL Ruins the lower section is supported by columns with Doric capitals. oak doors.The second floor exterior is some what differeent rectangular windows throughout. The main entrance to the in Ohio. that this feature survived from the nineteenth century.
The Madison County Courthouse was designed by architect cornice under the eaves. The interior conforms in general to buildings of its rests on a stone foundation, and measures approximately seventy- Above the clocks is a small bonnet-shaped cap with a mansard The Madison County Courthouse is perhaps the finest Second with the use of round-headed windows and arches above the five feet square.The cornerstone was laid on October 4, building is on the south side.Sandstone steps lead to massive, A two story tower rises above the roof on the south side.The The building was erected at a cost of $209,445.The courthouse is a statue of justice. (Check One) RECEIVED MAR 6 of stained glass.
Above the columns on each of the four sides are pediments.The frames.Above the windows on the second floor is a bracketed tower rests on a pediment above the doorway.It is square, and These panes are approximately one foot designed and best preserved nineteenth century courthouses 7 Fair - Pre-Columbian! - 16th Century SPECIFIC DATE(S) (If Applicable and Known) bullt 1890-1892 Other (Specify) STATEMENT OF
Statement of significance
structure. As can be seen today, Maetzel produced an of its architectural significance, the Madison County MAR 6 SIGNIFICANCE Commerce Engineering Architecture losophy Aboriginal Military Transportation Communications Science Conservation Landscape REGISTER Theater Religion/Phi Literature itarian Prehistoric NATIONAL Agriculture Music Sculpture Social/Human- Education Political Courthouse deserves the recognition of being placed on the Industry Invention The courthouse took two years to construct, and has until the latter part of the nineteenth century.Architect quickly, and London became a famous center for cattle National Register of Historie Places.
Franklin County's, was commissioned to design the new London was laid out circa 1810 as the county seat of Maetzel, who was the designer of many courthouses including was built before 1815 and was a Federal type structure. Urban Planning PERIOD (Check One or More as Appropriate) endured its eighty-two years quite gracefully. Because excellently proportioned building. Apparently county business was not too overwhelming RECEIVED AREAs OF SIGNIFICANCE (Check One or More as Appropriate)
Quoted from the National Register nomination
for reference 73001504, 12 pages, held by the National Archives in Record
Group 79. See the
catalogue record.
Listed places nearby
5 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.
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.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
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.
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