Built 1875

The Brown County Courthouse, in the center of the village of Nashville, is the third building to bear that name. The first court house was constructed of hewn logs 18X24 feet at the foundation and two stories high. The first contract for the construction of a county courthouse and a jail was let in February of 1837. The court house was completed in September and the jail in November of 1837. The jail, also two stories high measured 14X14 feet was constructed of hewn logs. The walls were three logs thick, the outside and inside courses being laid horizontally and the center logs were standing vertically in between. Total cost for both buildings was $700. The early courthouse was used until 1852, when it was outgrown.

For the next year or more, court was convened in the Methodist Church until the second courthouse was completed in 1855. This building, made of brick, cost $7,000 and burned in 1873 during a session of the circuit court. Nearly all records, including land title information were lost in the blaze.

The present, red-brick courthouse, which cost $9,000, was built on the foundations of the old structure in 1874-1875. Portions of the old walls were also used.

(Information from the Brown County Almanack Visitors Guide, Fall 2004)