It is an Italianate influenced, painted brick structure, which was enlarged and extensively remodeled with Georgian Revival decorative detailing in the 1930s.

The building entrance is flanked on the north by a three-story tower.

It was constructed in 1853, and is the only courthouse designed by Richard Upjohn in Maryland.

[2] The County Jail, which stood to the southeast of the courthouse from about 1882 until its demolition in 1994, was a Queen Anne and Romanesque Revival style granite structure with brick and terra cotta features.

[1] This article about a Registered Historic Place in Dorchester County, Maryland is a stub.