Old McHenry County Courthouse

The Old McHenry County Courthouse was built in 1857 as the seat of McHenry County in Woodstock Illinois. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and is now occupied by private tenants, including a restaurant and an art gallery.

EverGreene was retained to investigate the historic painted finishes in the Old McHenry County Courthouse. The purpose of the decorative finishes investigation was to determine the existence and extent of historic painted decorative schemes in the upstairs courtroom, adjacent hall, and judge’s chamber. Exploratory in-situ investigation and microscopic examination of the samples we collected determined that there were at least five different ornamental painting campaigns carried out over the 160+ year history of the building. The techniques involved in these campaigns included stenciling, wood graining, or faux bois, and trompe l’oeil decoration.