The courthouse, designed by Jacque "Jack" DeForest Griffin, was erected at a cost of over $418,000 on a corner lot at Main Street and Chehalis Avenue on grounds that contained a church and other buildings.

The Ford site, now lost and its location not specifically known,[a] was considered too remote and the Jackson courthouse difficult to reach for people traveling from the Puget Sound region.

Built on a cleared acre of land at the corner of North Street and State Avenue, construction on the two-story wood-framed courthouse was overseen by an Olympia-based contractor, W.H.

[21] In January 1926, an inspection by the local fire department chief, whose description of the site's condition was "reported in a bad way", led the Barret Block Courthouse to be declared as condemned.

[17] Immediate requests from city government officials to tear down the old courthouse did not materialize,[22] and several attempts were made to sell the abandoned structure to no avail.

[23][11] During the tear-down, workers were invigorated during a search to find $50 in gold that was supposedly hidden by a prisoner in the jail cell area; an old bottle of liquor was found instead.

Several installation failures, such as a single-system lock mechanism and availability of removable metal parts, allowed the prisoners to create makeshift tools to saw through floor boards and carve out space in the brickwork over the course of one or two days.

With affordable, available, and desirable plots in the city harder to find, the board determined that the time for the purchase was "propitious" and the lot considered conducive to a more financially feasible construction.

Judd Company,[34] contained a Methodist church, a blacksmith shop, and a wood structure that was part of an apartment house; the existing buildings were put up for sale in July 1923.

The first stage was overseen by a former Chehalis resident and Tacoma builder, S. Christian Erickson, who was in charge of pouring and casting the foundation, basement, and concrete shell and structural support.

[48] The new courthouse was formally accepted by Lewis County on June 1, 1927 and a final inspection a few days later noted that, outside of a few minor fixes, the building was "finished practically as desired".

A historian from the Washington State Historical Society, the mayors from Centralia and Morton, and other dignitaries made brief remarks on local history, personal recollections, and glowing accolades of the new courthouse.

Located immediately across the courthouse on Chehalis Avenue, the structures were substituted with a $66,000 concrete garage able to store more vehicles and provide an office for staff, as well as a car washing station.

However, a new detention center for juveniles was proposed in November 1961, citing a need to keep teenagers and younger children separated from adult offenders due to overcrowding issues at the courthouse's jail area.

With a need for more space due to increased workload, and a centralized, efficient county government at the courthouse, the addition was to add 55,000 square feet (5,100 m2) to the annex structure and would have been connected to both existing buildings by means of enclosed walkways.

[74] Final authorization by August 1976 estimated the construction costs of the annex at approximately $1.75 million, paid out of an existing fund, requiring no bonds or additional taxes.

[85] Three teenagers, who had previously escaped captivity in Colorado after being held for AWOL charges from their Air Force station post, attempted to flee the courthouse jail in July 1957.

The long-time jailer, ultimately held responsible for the escape attempt due to failures to properly follow procedure, was struck with a broom, suffering cuts to his head as well as burns after the trio threw hot coffee at him.

[88] Two convicts, serial killer William Perry Jackson and bank robber Gus Turner, cut into a wall and climbed up an open space to a skylight on the roof of the courthouse on the early morning of August 5, 1982.

Considered to be caused by a discarded cigarette or spontaneous combustion, no damage was reported and inmates in the jail cells were not harmed; the courthouse was ventilated by the city's fire department due to the excessive smoke.

[91] In July 1934 during a mortgage foreclosure auction, a common event held at the courthouse during the Great Depression, a crowd gathered to protest the sale of a farm and the eviction of its owners.

[102] Remodeling work was completed by February 1974 and a crowd of people attended an open house to view the efforts, which included a new judge's bench, light fixtures, and seating.

Interrupted by passing motorists who honked car horns in support, the protest was peaceful; county commissioners, normally crossing the street to attend meetings between the courthouse and annex, opted to use the deteriorating skywalk instead.

[108] Buzzard previously intervened in a fight in April that erupted in his courtroom after a civil defendant punched an attorney, leaving the bench and physically restraining the man.

Situated on a corner bordered by Chehalis Avenue and Main, North, and Pacific streets,[36] the structure is the focal point of a county government campus in the city.

[36] Unless otherwise noted, the details provided are based on the 2014 National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) nomination form and may not reflect updates or changes to the Lewis County Courthouse in the interim.

The plans met with large opposition, which included a local grange and parent–teacher association, deeming the costs exorbitant and funds better spent on educational needs.

[133] After what was to be only a project focused on light fixture replacement and repainting of the interior back to the courthouse's original colors,[k] additional renovations were undertaken without a master plan, which included upgrades to the electrical, heating and ventilation, and wiring the building for the internet.

The Superior Courtroom became a public meeting hall for the county commissioners, several offices were relocated to the second floor and replaced areas once occupied by the court system, and remaining agencies expanded their space.

[141] Prisoners under minimum security sentences, as well as overflow inmates from the Lewis County Jail, were housed on the second floor of the center, known as the Congregate Residential Facility.