The Effingham County Cultural Center and Museum is a historic building and museum located in Effingham, the county seat of Effingham County, Illinois. Built in 1871, the building was originally the Effingham County Courthouse.
The museum is located on the town square in the center of Effingham. It is owned and maintained by the county. It consists of approximately 1.9 acres bounded by East Washington Street to the north, East Jefferson Street to the south, 3rd Street to the west, and 4th Street to the east. It is set back about 100 feet from the street. Sidewalks extend from the north and south entrances, with the primary entrance located on the south end. East of the building is a parking lot, which has two accessible parking spaces near the side entrance. The lot extends to the accessible side entrance.
A pavilion with a flat cement floor was constructed to the northwest of the museum in 2025. It replaced a wood gazebo with steps that had been in the same general area.
The courthouse was started in 1870 and completed in 1871 at a cost of roughly $30,000. Its style is known as Second Empire, a style popular in the United States during the latter part of the nineteenth century, coming from France's Second Empire period of the late 18th century. There have been two minor changes to the exterior; in 1913 the bell tower was changed from the Second Empire style to a simple square with a pyramidal roof; and somewhat later the southeast exterior door was changed to permit handicapped access and a small porch roof was added to shelter the door.
In 2007, Effingham County constructed a new building, named the Effingham County Government Center, one block west of the 1871 courthouse, at which point the old courthouse was not longer used. Beginning in 2012, the old courthouse began use as a museum. The building has been listed on the US National Register of Historic Places since September 1985.
The exterior of the Effingham County Museum in Effingham, Illinois is composed primary of red brick, set on a rusticated stone basement, with an attic under a mansard rood and with a clock tower above all. The structure is roughly rectangular in shape. The north and south bays are set back, as are the north and south entrances. The building's corners are smooth stone quoining. The corner's edges are chamfered.
It appears that the stone may be sandstone at the foundation, and limestone elsewhere. The windows consist of individual and paired tall double-hung wood units, which are set into masonry arches. The second floor courtroom windows are taller than the others; this reflects the high ceiling of the courtroom itself. Round top wood double-hung windows are set into hooded dormers at the attic level. The basement windows in the foundation are aligned with the windows above them.
The shallow pitched roof and tower roof are surfaced with black synthetic rubber membrane material. The mansard roof and tower sides are clad in decorative roundwood shingles (circa 1980), which is a digression from the original tow-tone slate shingles which were installed in a banded pattern. The brick exterior appears to have been sandblasted at some point, and after that, stained red. The mortar joints have all been repainted. The smooth surface stone units have been coated with a cementitious layer, and all the exterior stone has been painted. All the original wood windows have been replaced in wood, with exterior metal-framed storm windows applied. Windows on the first and second level match the originals. The attic windows match the originals, with the exception of the curved bottom rails of the lower sash.
The first and second floors and the north and south bays of the attic floors are supported by exterior and interior masonry walls supporting wooden floor joists. The tall ceiling of the second floor courtroom and the attic floor above is supported by wooden trusses spanning the courtroom from north to south. The tower is all wood frame construction.
On the basement and first floor levels, the interior plan is laid out with a center hall that extends north-south, with stairs at each end and rooms along each side. On the second floor, the courtroom occupies the large center portion with stairs and ancillary rooms to the north and south. The multi-level attic floor contains ancillary rooms at the north and south, bordering spaces arranged between the trusses spanning the high courtroom below it. At the center of at the attic is a plaster dome in the courtroom ceiling, and directly below the tower.
When occupied by the county, changes were made over the years. Those include a vault room on the first floor, elevator and new interior stairs to all the floors, major and minor changes to the courtroom and offices throughout, suspended ceilings with lay-in lighting, and new ductwork. At an unknown time, portions of the basement floor on the west end were lowered.
Areas were separated with fire rated doors, including those on the first floor at the main hall that are on fusible link hold-open devices. Illuminated exit signs and emergency lighting were located throughout the building.
The heating system was replaced with a heating and cooling unit. Electric service connection is below grade, and a bank of electric boxes with a meter is located just west of the south entrance. A metered water service enters the building from the south.