In 1871, the state legislature enacted legislation to encourage the construction of Civil War memorials: the new law permitted Ohio's counties to gather money for the construction of memorials.

This law permitted the construction of the Pickaway County memorial in Circleville twenty years later.

Besides serving as a war memorial, the building has provided space for numerous community activities: the city's public library has long been housed on the first floor, while no meeting hall in the city is larger than the one in Memorial Hall's upper floors.

[3] The exterior is a clear example of the Richardsonian Romanesque style, due to elements such as the rounded archways, the heavy masonry construction and stone trim around its ribbon windows, its columns, and a massive corner tower.

[1] In recent years, through local funding, donations and state capital appropriations several renovations to the building have taken place including repairs to the roof, updating the HVAC to more modern standards and replacing exterior windows that leaked.