By Susan Couso
In July of 1864, Lassen County was only three months old, but the necessity for a courthouse was evident. Isaac Roop donated a two-acre plot of land for the courthouse site, and in 1867, a two-story wooden courthouse was built. But by the ‘turn of the century’, cries to replace the dilapidated old building got the attention of the Board of Supervisors.
A bond measure approval in June of 1915, funded the construction of a new courthouse and also a new County Hospital.
Architect George Clinton Sellon was selected to design the structure. He was California’s first State Architect, appointed by Gov. Gillett in 1907, and his work was well-known.
Sellon designed many important buildings, including Auburn City Hall & Firehouse, Nevada City City Hall, San Quentin Prison, Napa State Hospital and many of San Jose State University buildings.
Sellon also designed Sacramento’s first ‘skyscraper’, the 14-story tall Cal West Building.
His design of a Beaux Arts Classical Revival courthouse with strong Doric Order elements pleased local officials and citizens alike.
The original plans, dated July 3, 1915, listed extensive terra-cotta ornamentation inside and out. Sellon had suggested a tile exterior, but local citizens pushed to have the building faced in native-quarried stone.
In August, 1915, the contract for construction was given to San Francisco based contractor, James McLaughlin, with a very important sub-contract to local mason, Robert Brodie.
Brodie had shaped and lettered Isaac Roop’s massive headstone in 1914. He used locally-quarried gray-tan native stone to cover the building.
On September 21, 1917, the new Lassen County Courthouse was dedicated. Today, it still stands in nearly-original condition next to the old Lassen County Jail, which was built in 1911.
