The Osceola County Courthouse is the most established courthouse that still functions as a courthouse in Florida.
It opened in 1890 (although construction was completed a decade earlier) but had quite a political-historic tale of how it came in to being. It wasn’t easy but by two votes in a special referendum conducted in 1889, the sale of bonds to construct the courthouse and jail came through. The following year, part of the tower collapsed as some of the supporting timbers were removed. So this delayed the construction but on May 6, 1890 the new courthouse was completed. It wasn’t cheap however. The total cost was $25,031.70.
Today the story is slightly different. Over the last decade and a half, since the population of Osceola County has expanded so fast to over 200,000 residents, this has affected the court and its functions too. Hence a new courthouse was built which is intended to continue to serve the community over the next century. This 250,000 square foot building spans 12 courtrooms, 11 judicial chambers, six main floors, one video courtroom and five hearing rooms. Visitors will be able to see courts, clerk of court, State Attorney, Public Defender, etc. photo:Ebyabe
