It was originally one of five locations in Rhode Island which hosted the state legislature on a rotating basis, and served as the county courthouse through the 1980s.

The architect of the Federal style courthouse is unknown; official state records of the time do not list any individual involved with the building.

[2] There are good architectural and political reasons to believe the architect may have been Russell Warren[2] or possibly John Holden Greene.

The original design of the interior of the building had a central staircase leading to a platform and split risers to the second floor.

This article about a Registered Historic Place in Bristol County, Rhode Island is a stub.