[3] A builder named P. McManus was chosen for the construction and was hired on June 26, 1863, for $24,250, and was to have it built by October 1, 1864.

[4] Subsequent earthquakes in 1892, 1904, and 1906 weakened the structural integrity of the building and damaged the ventilation system.

[5] On October 17, 1911 the supervisors held a county-wide election to approve a $300,000 bond measure that would pay for the new courthouse to be built.

The measure lacked the consensus needed, and it was put up again in the next election on December 28, 1911, failing another time.

A ceremony was held with a crowd of 3,000, and the Grand Lodge of Masons of California laid the cornerstone of the new courthouse.

Both the rotundas and corridors are made from cut and polished marble with decorative copper handrails and hand-blown, egg-shaped glass light fixtures.