CHICKASAW COUNTY
Another IAGenWeb Project




THE COUNTIES AND COURTHOUSES OF IOWA
Chickasaw County

Established: January 15, 1851
Organized: August 13, 1853
(effective April 3, 1854)
County Seat: New Hampton

Chickasaw County (506 square miles) was named for the prominent southern Indian Nation, whose chief was Bradford. Roving bands of Winnebago Indians were in the territory when the first white settlers came in 1848.

In 1854, the county seat was located at Bradford, near the southwest corner of the county, and a plain log courthouse was erected at a cost of $1,840. The population of the county at this time was about 600. In the spring of 1857, the county seat was moved to New Hampton (first called Chickasaw Center), located near the geographical center of the county. But a long struggle followed, with Fredericksburg, Bradford, and Forest City all making unsuccessful bids for the honor. The various county offices found accommodations in private rooms and in the school building. It was not until 1865 that a courthouse was built in New Hampton—an unimpressive frame structure. The courthouse was enlarged in 1876 by the addition of a one-story, four-room brick building at the south side of the old structure.

A fire was discovered at the courthouse shortly after 9:00 p.m. on Friday, March 26, 1880. Court had adjourned at noon and many valuable and irreplaceable papers which had been left on the county clerk’s desk were burned. These included six or seven unrecorded wills, court records, and law books. The judge’s docket was not destroyed. “The Hook & Ladder Co. and hundreds of citizens were at the scene on short notice, ready, willing and anxious to do all in their power to save the building and contents; but the flames spread with such rapidity, making the interior a mass of flames, that it was soon evident that the building could not be saved. All efforts were then turned to the removing of the contents.”

The large safe in the sheriff’s office, containing nearly all the valuable papers of that office, and the contents of the county superintendent’s office, were removed. The fire blistered the pain on the old safe, built by Silas C. Herring Co., in 1852. Guns and ammunition of Co. E., 6th Regiment were stored in the courthouse and exploding ammunition could be heard during the fire. A strong wind from the east carried sparks and cinders from the frame courthouse, endangering buildings to the west of the courthouse square. Men with buckets of water and a falling mist, aided in quenching the flames. The loss was estimated at about $2,000 at the time of the fire, and there was insurance in the amount of $1,000.

The publisher of the New Hampton Tribune concluded the story of the fire by stating, “Taking it all in all, we believe the fire will be a benefit rather than a burden to Chickasaw county. Where once stood the old shell of a courthouse that was an eye-sore to sit within its poorly ventilated walls, and a discredit to a county of the wealth and population of Chickasaw, we shall look to see in the near future erected upon these ruins, a structure that will be an honor to the citizens of this county.” The cause of the blaze was unknown, although four years later (in 1884) general accusations were made in the New Hampton Tribune that the fire was set for “malicious revenge.”

As a result of the fire, the county was obliged to rent office space for the sheriff and superintendent, and rooms for sessions of court and for the board of supervisors. These temporary quarters were located in the Utter Building.

Another courthouse was proposed, but due to the efforts of the citizens of Nashua and Lawler to relocate the county seat, it was not until 1881 that the central portion of a new courthouse was completed at New Hampton. Meanwhile, there were many letters to the newspaper editor and much discussion as to “why should New Hampton lose the courthouse?” The third courthouse in Chickasaw County was of brick and stone construction and cost $10,500, of which New Hampton paid $5,000. The building was 60’x55’, and rested on a solid stone foundation, 3 ½ feet thick at the bottom. From the grade level to the top of the bell-deck measured 52 ½ feet, and the weathervane was about 100 feet above the grounds. Inside the courthouse, black walnut and ash were used for the woodwork. The courtroom was described as “spacious and airy, and in keeping with the position our county holds in the district.” The edifice was one “of which our people may be proud,” and “one of the best and most substantial courthouse in this part of the State.” In addition, the courthouse site “affords a splendid view of the surrounding country, and presents a fine appearance from the railroad.” In 1905, a wing was added on the south side of the courthouse at a cost of $4,219 and in 1906, another wing was built for $4,200 on the north side of the building.

The present (fourth) courthouse, built of Bedford limestone, was erected in 1929 at a cost of $134,000. The architects were Ralston and Ralston of Waterloo, and the contractor was Tarazar Construction Co. of Albert Lea, Minnesota.

Excerpt from the book The Counties and Courthouses of Iowa, By LeRoy G. Pratt, Copyright 1977, First Edition, typed and contributed by Linda Ziemann, IAGenWeb County Coordinator, Plymouth, Sioux and Monona Counties


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