Hamilton County Courthouse (Iowa)

Hamilton County Courthouse
Hamilton County Courthouse
	Hamilton County Courthouse
General information
Type	Courthouse
Architectural style	Modern
Address	2300 Superior St.
Town or city	Webster City, Iowa
Country	United States
Coordinates	42°27′12″N93°48′54″W / 42.453272°N 93.814901°W
Construction started	July 1975
Completed	1976
Technical details
Floor count	Two
Design and construction
Architecture firm	Smith, Voorhees, Jensen Associates
Main contractor	Sande Construction & Supply Company

Last updated January 29, 2021

The Hamilton County Courthouse is located in Webster City, Iowa, United States. The current facility is the third structure that Hamilton County has used to house county administration and court functions

History

The first courthouse for the county was begun in 1858, but it had to be dismantled before it was completed because the county ran out of money to finish construction.^[1] A two-story frame courthouse was completed in the 1860s, and it was repurposed as a house in Webster City after the county built a new courthouse. Financing for the new courthouse provided difficult once again. The board of supervisors and voters agreed to sell swampland owned by the county to pay for it, but $5 an acre was considered too high and no one bought the land. At the same time, no contractor was willing to be paid in real estate and to put up the $50,000 bond required by the county.^[1] Finally, John M. Rice, a Chicago contractor, was awarded the contract in late 1875. He put up a $5,000 bond and was compensated with $30,000 in swampland funds and securities and 1,360 acres (550 ha) in swampland. The $30,000 was provided by 32 Webster City residents who agreed to buy 4,000 acres (1,600 ha) at $3.40 per acre. The three-story brick courthouse was designed by the architectural firm of Street & Baker, and dedicated on July 4, 1876. It featured round arch windows, a mansard roof and a cupola that was subsequently removed. The total cost of construction came to $37,837.17.^[1]

The present courthouse was completed on the south side of Webster City in 1976. It was designed by the Des Moines architectural firm of Smith, Voorhees, Jensen Associates, and it was built by Sande Construction & Supply Company. The exterior of the Modern two-story structure is composed of brick and black stone from Georgia.^[2] The present county jail was added in 2004.

Related Research Articles

The Crawford County Courthouse is in Denison, Iowa, United States, the county seat of Crawford County. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. The courthouse is the second building the county has used for court functions and county administration.

Winnebago County Courthouse in Forest City, Iowa, United States, is a historic building and active courthouse. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.

The Johnson County Courthouse in Iowa City, Iowa, the county seat of Johnson County, was completed in 1901; it was the second courthouse to stand at this location. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

The Humboldt County Courthouse is located in Dakota City, Iowa, United States, and dates from 1939. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003 as a part of the PWA-Era County Courthouses of IA Multiple Properties Submission. The courthouse is the second building the county has used for court functions and county administration.

The Des Moines County Court House located in Burlington, Iowa, United States, was built in 1940. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003 as a part of the PWA-Era County Courthouses of Iowa Multiple Properties Submission. The courthouse is the fourth structure to house court functions and county administration.

The Audubon County Court House is located in the county seat of Audubon, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003 as a part of the PWA-Era County Courthouses of IA Multiple Properties Submission. The courthouse is the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration.

The Warren County Courthouse is located in Indianola, Iowa, United States. The courthouse that was built in 1939 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 2003 as a part of the PWA-Era County Courthouses of IA Multiple Properties Submission. It was the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration. The building was demolished in the summer of 2019 and removed from the NRHP in September of the same year. A new courthouse and justice center is expected to be completed in 2021.

The Scott County Courthouse in Davenport, Iowa, United States was built from 1955 to 1956 and extensively renovated over a ten-year period between 1998 and 2009. It is the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration. It is part of a larger county complex that includes the county jail, administration building and juvenile detention facility. In 2020 the courthouse was included as a contributing property in the Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Polk County Courthouse located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States, was built in 1906. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 as a part of the County Courthouses in Iowa Thematic Resource. The courthouse is the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration.

The Louisa County Courthouse in Wapello, Iowa, United States, was built in 1928. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 as a part of the County Courthouses in Iowa Thematic Resource. The courthouse is the fourth building the county has used for court functions and county administration.

The Jefferson County Courthouse located in Fairfield, Iowa, United States was built from 1890 to 1893. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 as a part of the County Courthouses in Iowa Thematic Resource. The courthouse is the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration.

The Montgomery County Courthouse is located in Red Oak, Iowa, United States. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. In 2016 it was included as a contributing property in the Red Oak Downtown Historic District. The courthouse is the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration.

The Davis County Courthouse in Bloomfield, Iowa, United States was built in 1877. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Two years later it was listed as a contributing property in the Bloomfield Square historic district. The courthouse is the second building to house court functions and county administration.

The Dallas County Courthouse in Adel, Iowa, United States was built in 1902. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, and is a part of the County Courthouses in Iowa Thematic Resource. In 2009 it was included as a contributing property in the Adel Public Square Historic District. The current structure is the fourth building to house court functions and county administration.

The Sac County Courthouse in Sac City, Iowa, United States, was built in 1889. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 as a part of the County Courthouses in Iowa Thematic Resource. The courthouse is the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration.

The Decatur County Courthouse, located in Leon, Iowa, United States, was built in 1908. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 as a part of the County Courthouses in Iowa Thematic Resource. The courthouse is the sixth building the county has used for court functions and county administration.

The Delaware County Courthouse, located in Manchester, Iowa, United States, was built in 1894. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 as a part of the County Courthouses in Iowa Thematic Resource. The current structure is the fourth building to house court functions and county administration.

The O'Brien County Courthouse is located in Primghar, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 as a part of the County Courthouses in Iowa Thematic Resource. The courthouse is the fourth building the county has used for court functions and county administration.

The Guthrie County Courthouse is located in Guthrie Center, Iowa, United States. The current facility is the fourth structure in Guthrie Center to house county administration and court functions since 1859.

The Kossuth County Courthouse is located in Algona, Iowa, United States. It is the third courthouse the county has used for court functions and county administration. For the first eleven years of the county's existence its government was housed in various buildings in Algona. Its first stand alone courthouse was a frame structure completed in 1867. An Italianate-style building with a 72-foot (22 m) high tower replaced it in 1874. A grand jury indicted several members of the board of supervisors alleging that construction bids were not given to the lowest bidders and non-courthouse funds were used in its construction. They were all found not guilty. After several grand jury inspections in the 1930s the building was labeled a fire hazard. A bond referendum to build a new courthouse passed on September 9, 1947, but the high cost of materials prevented construction at that time.

References

1 2 3 Stanek, Edward and Jacqueline (1976). Iowa's Magnificent County Courthouses. Des Moines: Wallace-Homestead. p. 86. ISBN 0-87069-189-9.
↑ "Hamilton County Courthouse". Iowa Judicial Branch. Retrieved 2015-12-14.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[Stanek-1] 1 2 3 Stanek, Edward and Jacqueline (1976). Iowa's Magnificent County Courthouses. Des Moines: Wallace-Homestead. p. 86. ISBN 0-87069-189-9.

[judicial-2] "Hamilton County Courthouse". Iowa Judicial Branch. Retrieved 2015-12-14.

[1]

[2]

v t e County courthouses in Iowa
Adair Adams Allamakee Appanoose Audubon Benton Black Hawk Boone Bremer Buchanan Buena Vista Butler Calhoun Carroll Cass Cedar Cerro Gordo Cherokee Chickasaw Clarke Clay Clayton Clinton Crawford Dallas Davis Decatur Delaware Des Moines Dickinson Dubuque Emmet Fayette Floyd Franklin Fremont Greene Grundy Guthrie Hamilton Hancock Hardin Harrison Henry Howard Humboldt Ida Iowa Jackson Jasper Jefferson Johnson Jones Keokuk Kossuth Lee (North), (South) Linn Louisa Lucas Lyon Madison Mahaska Marion Marshall Mills Mitchell Monona Monroe Montgomery Muscatine O'Brien Osceola Page Palo Alto Plymouth Pocahontas Polk Pottawattamie Poweshiek Ringgold Sac Scott Shelby Sioux Story Tama Taylor Union Van Buren Wapello Warren Washington Wayne Webster Winnebago Winneshiek Woodbury Worth Wright		Iowa portal
List of counties in Iowa ♦ List of county courthouses in Iowa