Fremont County Courthouse (Iowa)

Fremont County Courthouse
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Location	Clay St. Sidney, Iowa
Coordinates	40°44′45″N95°38′37″W / 40.74583°N 95.64361°W / 40.74583; -95.64361 Coordinates: 40°44′45″N95°38′37″W / 40.74583°N 95.64361°W / 40.74583; -95.64361
Area	less than one acre
Built	1889
MPS	County Courthouses in Iowa TR
NRHP reference No.	81000238 [1]
Added to NRHP	July 2, 1981

The Fremont County Courthouse, located in Sidney, 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. ^[1] The courthouse is the second structure to house court functions and county administration.

History

Fremont County was organized in 1850. Its first county seat was in Austin, a community 7.5 miles (12.1 km) south of Sidney. There were two houses in the small town and court sessions were held in the storeroom of A.H. Argyle's home. ^[2] The county seat moved to Sydney the following year. In 1860, commissioners erected a two-story brick building that featured a heavy brick tower and a tin roof for $40,000. ^[3] The county financed its construction through the sale of swampland. The structure was heavily damaged in an explosion in 1863. Its windows and doors were blown out of the structure and the second floor and roof were thrown out of place. While the county spent money to repair the building, the fissures in the walls continued to increase in size in the following years and the decision was made to build a new courthouse.

The current courthouse is a two-story brick structure constructed in 1889. It is rather plain in appearance for the period it was built. ^[4] The building's primary features includes an entrance porch with round arches perched on short, medieval-looking, granite columns; and the brick wall dormers with triangular pediments and oculus windows. The squat tower has several shed dormers along the roofline. At one time the exterior was covered with stucco. The building is situated on a double square, which is a rarity in Iowa. ^[5] Its significance is derived from its association with county government, and the political power and prestige of Sidney as the county seat. ^[4]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. Stanek, Edward and Jacqueline (1976). Iowa's Magnificent County Courthouses. Des Moines: Wallace-Homestead. p. 78. ISBN   0-87069-189-9.
3. "Fremont County Courthouse". Iowa Judicial Branch. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
4. M.H. Bowers. "Fremont County Courthouse". National Park Service . Retrieved 2018-09-12. with photo
5. Tom Schmiedeler. "Frontier Forms of Iowa's County Seats". The Annals of Iowa . Retrieved 2018-09-14.