Historical Marker
First Public Building
Ohio County's first jail and courthouse, a combined two-story, log structure, built 1799-1800. The second-story courtroom was of "well-hewed logs, with a raised bench for the court, a bar for the attorneys, with bannisters and rails." This building collapsed in 1813. The material salvaged was burned to celebrate the victory of Commodore Perry on Lake Erie.
The first successful gold rush in the United States occurred in 1806 in Kentucky. The gold was found in the sand and gravel of the Ohio River and its tributaries.