Until the middle of the Nineteenth Century, no general provisions were made for the erection of courthouses in any of the judicial districts. Usually the federal government relied "upon the liberality of the local governments for the accommodation of the national courts."¹ The earliest courts were held in private homes or public rooms of taverns. Later the federal courts were held in public buildings belonging to the state, county or city located in the district. The first buildings outside of the nation's capital built by the federal government were custom houses. Although there was no provisions made to provide space for courtrooms in the customs houses, space was provided when needed.

Photographs of the Courthouses of the Sixth Circuit were obtained from many sources. The earliest courthouses in the circuit were obtained by the Federal History Center in Washington from the files of the National Archives. Others came from the files of the Sixth Circuit Archives, loaned by private citizens, other government agencies such as the General Services Administration (GSA) and archival repositories from the states of the Sixth Circuit.