County of Oxford Court House

In 1888, with the threat of a lawsuit because of unsafe working conditions in the old Court House, Oxford County Council appointed a special committee to identify the requirements for a new Court House. As well, the committee was to investigate other Court Houses. That fall, the committee reported that the Council should advertise for a new Court House that would "be as fire proof as possible" and would cost no more than $75,000.00 "complete and furnished."

The response to this competition was amazing, with queries from over eighty architects and denouncements from the Architectural Guild of Toronto that no suitable edifice could be built for that sum. Eventually though, architectural plans were submitted by sixteen architectural firms, with the contract being awarded to James Balfour of Hamilton.

Since the Council had changed its mind about the project and was now stipulating that the architect was to also superintend construction of the project for a fee of 4% of the contract, Balfour then withdrew his plans. In his correspondence, he stated "... that his building could not be erected in a substantial manner for the sum mentioned in your instructions." With that, the top prize was awarded to Robert Thomas Brookes, an architect from Detroit. Brookes immediately set up specifications for tenders for construction, with the lowest bidders being William C. Smith and Company of Detroit.

Originally, the plan had been to build the new court house behind the older one, so that the offices and chambers could still be used, but County Council reneged on that decision, deciding instead to allow the construction on the best building site. Arrangements were made to set up the Clerk's Office and a temporary Council Chamber in vacant space over White and White's Drug Store in downtown Woodstock, while the Sheriff worked in a small building on his Vansittart Avenue property. The courts were set up in the ballroom on the second floor of the Woodstock Town Hall.

Following the demolition of the old building in early 1890, construction began on the new Court House. As the building progressed, the reliability and competence of both the architect and the contractor came into question. Independent inspections by two consulting firms in the summer of 1890 confirmed that the work was not being carried out satisfactorily and that the foundation walls would not be able to support the finished building. In August, Robert Brookes was dismissed and a new architectural firm was hired in December. The new architects, Cuthbertson and Fowler, recommended that the basement walls were "most unsatisfactory, unworkmanlike and unsafe" and that they should be taken down and rebuilt. As a result, the first contractors were dismissed over conflicts regarding the extra work involved. A contract for completion of the Court House was awarded to a Toronto builder, A.J. Brown, in June 1891. Tenders were called for mechanical systems and interior furnishings, with most of the office furniture being provided by The Canadian Office and School Furniture Company.

Said to be one of the finest County buildings in the province, the County of Oxford Court House building was formally dedicated in December 1892, with a grand ball held in the Superior Court Room on the top floor, the following February. Including costs for the building, furnishings, exterior landscaping and interest, the total cost of the Court House was $125,086.00.