One of Butler County’s most historic structures was almost lost in a blaze that killed 3 firefighters

That area history was brought to mind on Monday as the world watched the devastating fire at the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral in Paris.

The courthouse took several years to build, from 1885 to 1889, and its elements were examples of Second Empire architecture.

County officials laid the building's cornerstone on Oct. 29, 1885, but required state funds via legislation sponsored by then Sen. George Elliott, of Butler County. It was complete by February 1889.

A year after the courthouse fire, the Great Miami River region experienced a disastrous flood and the courthouse served as a temporary  morgue when more than 200 people died in the 1913 flood, which occurred on March 25 and 26, 1913.