San Bernardino County history: San Bernardino County Courthouse

"San Bernardino County Update", yellow arrowhead and "SBCounty.gov

A historic building with large columns surrounded by tall trees and grass. Several vintage cars are parked along the street in front. — *County Courthouse in 1937.*

The first official San Bernardino County Courthouse was built in 1875. The two-story building featured a central clock tower and was located on E Street between 3rd and 4th streets in the city of San Bernardino.

The courthouse housed the courts, the recorder, the Board of Supervisors and nearly every other county office. Following the land boom of the 1880s and an influx of new residents, the building quickly became too small. A new courthouse was constructed and referred to as an “extension” of the original courthouse, despite being much larger.

In 1923, an earthquake severely damaged the courthouse and several other county buildings. County supervisors then asked architect Howard E. Jones to determine whether it would be more economical to repair and modernize the damaged courthouse or construct a new one.

In 1926, a new courthouse was built on the site of Fort San Bernardino on Arrowhead Avenue at an estimated cost of $450,000. Jones described the building as “Classic Italian Renaissance” in style, featuring a 100-foot-wide colonnade of stone columns, each standing 26 feet tall.

The courthouse was built with reinforced concrete and featured marble staircases, bronze doors and ceilings decorated with pastel colors and gold leaf. The original 1875 courthouse clock was preserved and remounted near the original courthouse site on E Street, south of Court Street.

The courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jan. 12, 1998, and continues to serve the public.

The information in this historical feature was originally part of a video series produced by the Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk’s office.

Additional County Update News – July 23, 2026