Jasper County Courthouse (Iowa)

Jasper County Courthouse

Jasper County Courthouse
Location 1st Ave. between W. 1st St. & W. 2nd Sts.
Newton, Iowa
Coordinates 41°42′0″N 93°3′15″W / 41.70000°N 93.05417°W / 41.70000; -93.05417Coordinates: 41°42′0″N 93°3′15″W / 41.70000°N 93.05417°W / 41.70000; -93.05417
Area less than one acre
Built 1909
Architect Proudfoot & Bird
Architectural style Beaux Arts
Part of Newton Downtown Historic District (#14000665)
MPS County Courthouses in Iowa TR
NRHP Reference # 81000249[1]
Added to NRHP July 2, 1981

The Jasper County Courthouse in Newton, Iowa is a building from 1909. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. In 2014 it was listed as a contributing property in the Newton Downtown Historic District.[2]

History

Court was first held in 1846 in a log cabin.[3] The first courthouse was built of lumber in 1847; it was 18 by 30 feet (5.5 × 9 m) and cost a total of $87.50. That courthouse was later moved to a farm near Newton. A second courthouse was built in 1857 out of limestone and bricks for a total cost of $26,600.


Current courthouse

First dedicated in 1911, the third and current courthouse still stands.[4] It is built of limestone except for the doors and window casings which are wooden.[5] American general and Iowa politician James B. Weaver wrote of the current courthouse in the 1912 county history, "long after the pages of this county history are worn and turned yellow with age, in all human probability this building will stand in all its massive beauty".[4] The Jasper County Medical Society held their annual meetings at the courthouse.[6]

The courthouse stands 121 by 80 feet (37 × 24 m) with a 140-foot (43 m) clock tower. The clock was created with the help of private donations. The interior has ceramic tile and marble and the outside of the building is decorated during the Christmas season.[5] There was a renovation of the courthouse in 1986 that fixed the interior and involved the dome and paintings.[3] The current governor of Iowa Terry Branstad visited the courthouse for its 100th anniversary on July 4, 2011.[7] People have said that the courthouse is "the most beautiful county capitol in Iowa".[5]

References

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ "Newton Downtown Historic District". Newton Main Street. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
  3. 1 2 "Jasper County Courthouse". Iowa Judicial Branch.
  4. 1 2 Stanek, Edward; Stanek, Jacqueline (1976). Iowa's Magnificent County Courthouses. Wallace-Homestead Book Co. p. 106.
  5. 1 2 3 "Jasper County, Iowa Genealogy, Facts and Records Resources". geneolgyinc.
  6. ↑ "Journal of the Iowa State Medical Society, Volume 5". Iowa State Medical Society. 1915.
  7. ↑ "Ceremony for the 100th Anniversary of the Jasper County Courthouse". Office of the Governor of Iowa.
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