[4] The area was initially settled by Virginia veterans of the American Revolution, who received the land from the government as payment for their service in the war.

[a] "Washington Court House" is the longest city name in the state of Ohio.

[8] Washington Court House's first settlers appear to have been Edward Smith Sr., and his family, who emigrated from Pennsylvania in 1810.

Smith and his family constructed a crude house in the thick woodlands near Paint Creek, but their efforts to clear the land were interrupted by his departure for military service in the War of 1812.

[9] Comparatively soon after returning from his martial pursuits, Smith drowned while attempting to cross a flooded creek,[10] but his widow and 10 children survived and prospered despite the absence of their patriarch.

Downtown, the courthouse square has been named a historic district, and a similar designation has been accorded the city cemetery.

Nine individual buildings are separately listed on the register: Judy Chapel at the cemetery, the former Washington School, the Fayette County Courthouse, the former William Burnett House (no longer standing[13]), and the Barney Kelley, Jacob Light, Rawlings-Brownell, Robinson-Pavey, and Morris Sharp houses.

[5] On October 16, 1894, a crowd gathered outside the Fayette County Courthouse with intent to lynch William "Jasper" Dolby, a black man who had been convicted of sexually assaulting a white woman.

Ohio Governor William McKinley called out the militia to subdue the crowd.

Colonel Alonzo B. Coit ordered his troops to fire through the courthouse doors, killing five men.

After the trial, Governor McKinley stated, "The law was upheld as it should have been... but in this case at fearful cost... Lynching cannot be tolerated in Ohio.

Washington Court House is part of the Columbus, Ohio, media market, so is served by several Columbus-area television and radio stations.

Washington Court House also easily receives radio and television stations from Dayton and Cincinnati.

[27] Fayette County Airport is a county-owned general aviation facility located northeast of Washington Court House.