149 High Street

History

The Superior Courthouse, designed by Charles Bulfinch, was completed in 1805. As initially constructed, the building was Federal in style. The building was two stories with a pediment over the center bays, much like the old Market House in Market Square. The first story had an open arcade and a belt course between the first and second floors. The original character of the building is still visible in its rear, which has not been altered.

The Superior Courthouse is one of the oldest active courthouses in the nation. The Courthouse and the surrounding Bartlett Mall are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Courthouse, designed by architect Charles Bulfinch, who also designed the Massachusetts State House in Boston, was built in 1805. Architecturally, the building has two stories and was designed and built in the Federal style. According to young archival researcher Tyler Hoover, “It was the first courthouse of its type because the courtroom was on the second floor instead of the first floor.” Initially, the Courthouse had brick pillars and arches that supported the second floor. Also, it displayed a statue of “a female figure, representing Justice, holding a pair of scales in her right hand.”

The Courthouse has undergone various renovations since 1805, first in 1853, when the front of the Courthouse was remodeled, the statue of Justice was removed, and the roof was replaced with an Italianate style; and then again in 1973. Author/Historian Euphemia Vale, in her 1854 history of Newburyport, wrote that “The [1853] alterations cost $12,400, and the new furnishing of the rooms brought the total expense of the improvements up to more than $13,000."

According to the paperwork on file with the government of Newburyport, after construction of the Superior Courthouse was completed as a joint undertaking by the town and county, annual town meetings were held therein until 1834. The space was also used during that time as a summer school for girls. On April 18, 1834, a town committee was appointed to sell off the town’s financial interest in the building. Their goal was achieved by June 3 of that same year, and the property officially came under the ownership of Essex County.

Many historically relevant figures argued cases within the Superior Courthouse, including Daniel Webster, John Quincy Adams, and Caleb Cushing.