Local Building Again On List Of Endangered Historic Sites

(From Preservation Ohio)

We continue our daily announcement of locations on the 2026 List of Ohio’s Most Endangered Historic Sites. Information about this list, first issued in 1993, can be found at this link: https://preserveohio.com/ohios-most-endangered-historic…/

This is the second consecutive year that the former Hancock County Probate Court building has been on the List.

This building was originally built as the First Congregational Church. The church purchased a lot next to the Courthouse, where they built this beautiful building. Eventually the church disorganized in the mid 1880s. The County has constructed a new building a new building to house the Probate and Juvenile Courts due to lack to space in the current building. This may be the oldest still standing religious structure in Hancock County.

The County has repeatedly discussed the need for additional parking and has suggested demolishing the building for that reason.

Local historical organizations and members of the community have repeatedly expressed the desire for this property to be preserved and used for another purpose.