 Tioga County Courthouse: This courthouse was the second one to be erected in Owego. It was built between 1871 and 1873 on a plot of land donated for public use by James McMaster in 1799. It is one of the oldest functioning courthouses in New York State. It is the first building in Tioga County to be placed on the National Historic Register on December 26, 1972. The original towers (two stood 115 feet high, and two stood 92 feet high) were lowered in 1931 because of decay. The pair of lions on the steps of the south entrance has an interesting story. An Owego physician purchased them for his wife, who had often admired them when she lived in New York City. When he discovered that the building where the lions sat was going to be torn down, he purchased them and put them at the entrance of the home that once stood on the northwest corner of Main and Central Avenue. After their deaths, the house was sold and the lions were removed. Years later they were found in a cellar and then placed at the Courthouse in 1975.
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Heritage / Arts / Culture 
