Built in 1893, the Mason County Courthouse is actually the second building of the sort in Ludington, Michigan. The one that it replaced was actually the farmhouse of the area?s first settler, which was used by the local government as a courthouse, trading post, and jail.

The Mason County Courthouse was designed by Sidney J. Osgood in the Richardsonian Romanesque architecture. With Ludington holding the county seat, a dedicated building for official transactions has been an extreme necessity, so the construction was a very significant structure in the area.

Today, the Mason County Courthouse still functions for the main purpose that it was built for more than a century ago. It is also declared a Michigan State Historic Site and became a part of the National Register of Historic Places.