Laclede County's Government Center carries the courthouse story

Laclede County’s main government address is not just an office location. The county’s own history page says Lebanon is the county seat, Laclede County was organized in 1849, and the county was named for Pierre Laclede, the founder of St. Louis.

The courthouse story also explains the present layout. The county says an early courthouse was sold in the 1870s, a later courthouse burned in 1920, and the next courthouse was completed in 1925. The current building is known as the Laclede County Government Center.

For a resident, that history has a practical payoff. Lebanon is where the core county offices concentrate, and the Government Center is the place name you will see when you are looking for county business rather than a preserved old courthouse alone.