I don’t find myself in West Virginia too often, but a cousin’s wedding a few years back gave me the perfect excuse to squeeze in a courthouse tour. I managed to hit seven in total, including everything from towering Art Deco landmarks to rugged Richardson Romanesque gems. The one that really stuck with me, though, was the unusual Lewis County Courthouse in Weston.
Formed in 1816 from Harrison County1, Lewis was named after Colonel Charles Lewis, a Virginian killed during the Dunmores War, a conflict between the British Colony and the Shawnee and Mingo tribes2. At first, courts were held in Lewis Maxwell’s house across from the public square. Local legend says that the judge sat on a chair placed on Maxwell’s workbench3!
Weston was founded in 1818 but was first known as Preston. The name was later changed to Fleshersville, then to Weston in 1819. Lewis County’s first purpose-built courthouse was built there in 1821. A simple brick structure that, according to one account, was “not a model of architectural beauty4,” the building was topped with a comically oversized cupola said to sway in the wind! Even so, it held its ground for more than three decades, pulling double duty for various civic needs until a larger courthouse replaced it in 18575.
Lewis County’s second courthouse was a major upgrade from its ramshackle predecessor. The new frame structure boasted surprising elegance for its time: carpet lined the courtroom, hall, and stairway, and the interior walls were handsomely decorated. Outside, an iron fence on a rock foundation added a touch of formality and security to the county’s growing seat of justice6. Unfortunately, the second courthouse burned in 1886 by a fire that was thought to have been set intentionally7.
Architect W.J. Kitson was responsible for the third, and present, courthouse, which was completed in 18888. Of all the courthouses I’ve visited, Lewis County’s stands out for a couple of reasons. First, it looks almost exactly like what I picture when I think of a typical county or parish courthouse in the Deep South. The second reason it caught my eye and continues to intrigue me is that, aside from its tower, the brick building looks more like a stately old home than a seat of justice. Indeed, the campus it sits on is also home to several elderly houses that have been repurposed into county offices.
The cream-colored courthouse features projecting polygonal bays on either side of a recessed central entrance and a shallow, multi-sectioned hipped roof supported by a bracketed cornice. Rising above the entryway, the tower features Gothic-arched louvered openings and is topped with a cupola, just like the smaller octagonal turrets that sprout from each side wall9.
The northeastern side of the courthouse features a sympathetic addition built in 1979 and designed by R.L. Smith Architectural Associates of Charleston10. More substantially, an enormous Lewis County Judicial Annex by Selling Architects of Charleston was added to the rear of the building in 2012-2013. I didn’t take any pictures, but the two-story brick and concrete structure features narrow windows and a rectangular clock tower.
Even without stepping inside, the Lewis County Courthouse in Weston left a lasting impression. Its odd blend of residential charm and civic formality, its southern flair in the hills of West Virginia, and the layered history of its additions and expansions all made the building feel like more than just another stop on my courthouse journey.
TL;DR
Lewis County (pop. 16,500, 35/55)
Weston (pop. 3,776)
Built: 1888
Cost: Unknown
Architect: J. Charles Fulton
Style: Italianate
Courthouse Square: Lancaster Square
Height: 3 stories
Current Use: County courts and offices
Photographed: 4/23/2018
Sources Cited
1 West Virginia Counties (n.d.) West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture & History [Charleston]. Web. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
2 Downes, Road.C. (1940). Council Fires on the Upper Ohio: A Narrative of Indian Affairs in the Upper Ohio Valley until 1795. University of Pittsburgh Press [Pittsburgh]. Book.
3 Smith, E.C. (1920). A History of Lewis County, West Virginia. Edward Conrad Smith, A.M. [Weston]. Book.
4 (See footnote 3).
5 Deacon, J. “Lewis County”. American Courthouses. 2008. Web. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
6 (See footnote 3).
7 (See footnote 5).
8 (See footnote 5).
9 Chambers, S.A. (n.d.) Lewis County Courthouse. SAH Archipedia. Society of Architectural Historians. Web. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
10 (See footnote 5).
