Decatur County Courthouse (Iowa)

Decatur County Courthouse
Location 9th St.
Leon, Iowa
Coordinates 40°44′26″N 93°44′46″W / 40.74056°N 93.74611°W / 40.74056; -93.74611Coordinates: 40°44′26″N 93°44′46″W / 40.74056°N 93.74611°W / 40.74056; -93.74611
Built 1908
Architect Smith, Wetherell and Gage
Architectural style Renaissance Revival
MPS County Courthouses in Iowa TR
NRHP Reference # 81000233 [1]
Added to NRHP July 2, 1981

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.[1] The courthouse is the sixth building the county has used for court functions and county administration.

History

The first courthouse in Decatur County was a log structure built in Leon in for $375.[2][3] The county soon outgrew the building and it was replaced by a small structure that was declared unusable soon after it was built. The next courthouse was destroyed in a windstorm before it was finished, and a fire destroyed the fourth courthouse along with the county records. The fifth courthouse was a brick structure that was built for $20,000.[2] In 1876, thieves attempted to open the Treasurer’s safe and when they set off explosives they blew up that side of the building, but were unable to crack the safe.[2][4] The building was rebuilt and served as the county courthouse until the present building replaced it in 1908. Iron, stone, steel, tile, brick, marble and granite were all used in its construction.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Staff (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Decatur County Courthouse". Iowa Judicial Branch. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
  3. ↑ Stanek, Edward and Jacqueline (1976). Iowa's Magnificent County Courthouses. Des Moines: Wallace-Homestead. p. 60. ISBN 0-87069-189-9.
  4. ↑ Smith, Heman Conoman (1915). History of Decatur County, Iowa, and Its People, Volume 1. S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. p. 22.
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