Hamilton County was created by an act of the state legislature on Jan. 1, 1857. As part of that act, our town of Newcastle was renamed Webster City and became the county seat. In March an article appeared in the Hamilton Freeman, Webster City’s first newspaper, calling for the construction of a courthouse. It was suggested that it could be done without taxation by selling off some of the swamp lands that were given to the county by the federal government.

A week later a letter to the editor pleaded for a jail because a "wholesale counterfeiter" and a "murderer" was at large. It continued with the words that "construction can be done without taxation by using the swamp lands." The writer stated that 90% of the population was in favor of such a proposal.

An election was held at the end of March and 80% favored the proposition. Opposition came from two sources: Homer, the community that lost the county seat, and Saratoga, a community in the central part of the county who wanted the county seat to be moved there since it was a more central location in the county. In the same paper, editor Charles Aldrich wrote that "Homer should bury the hatchet and let ‘Progress and Improvement be our motto.’"

Our first county judge was J. D. Maxwell. Though he personally favored a more modest building, he went along with the plans developed by Capt. Grechenek, our county surveyor. He advertised for bids for a 50 ft. by 70 ft. building with a basement of cut stone and two stories of brick above it. The architect’s drawing is shown here. It was to be built in the center of what we now call West Twin Park. A bid of $33,100 was accepted by Maxwell from the firm of Hyde and Huskins of Des Moines.

Work began on July 26, 1858. Many citizens were in attendance when Judge Maxwell laid a stone in the foundation. By August 13th the basement was completed. In December problems arose as the bond sale was not successful and it was not possible to pay the contractor. Sumler Willson was sent to Chicago to try to sell the initial bonds while his brother, Walter C. Willson, paid for the workmen’s lodging and food.

Judge Maxwell issued another $4,000 in county bonds and gave $1,000 to Dan Underdown, proprietor of the Willson House, to care for the men. (Willson House was located in what is now the McFarland Clinic parking lot.) Hyde then demanded that Maxwell issue another $5,000 in bonds so he could pay Butterworth and Snell, the major suppliers of materials. Maxwell refused but gave Hyde a quit claim deed for part of the swamp lands.

Work resumed, but on February 24th tragedy struck at 9:00 a.m. Two men at work digging a well were trapped when the earth collapsed around them. The men were Joseph Grandidier and Andrew Wheeler. This well was located about where the band shell is now located. Planks held back some of the dirt as the men cried out for help.

The first man to respond was a stone mason, John Mortimer Nolan. He slid down the windlass rope to attempt the rescue, but another cave-in trapped him up to his neck. Cries went out and soon there were about 200 people milling about, trying to figure out what to do. Nolan yelled for someone to cut a plank across his chest which did not allow him to breath. Grandidier and Wheeler cried out for them not to cut the plank as they would be smothered.

Soon, all three men died. Nolan’s body was removed that day. The other two bodies were removed the next day. Hyde and Huskins gave up the project and left town. No work was done for the rest of 1859. Granville Burkley, a lawyer from Homer, sent a letter to the editor "blistering" Maxwell. Judge Maxwell was defeated in an election in October of 1859 by a Homer man, Dr. Hampton Corbin.

On December 31st , Maxwell’s last day in office, he let a contract to S. B. Rosencrans, E. W. Salsbury, and Benjamin Millard for $50,000 to finish the courthouse. Rosencrans and Salsbury were Webster City merchants; Millard was a farmer who lived near Briggs Woods. He is the man for whom Millard’s Lane is named.

On January 28, 1860, a meeting was held at the schoolhouse in Webster City at which public outrage was expressed. Burkley from Homer talked at length. Finally, a committee of three was appointed to draft resolutions to present to the new judge, Judge Corbin. Nearly six months later, on June 15th , the judge issued a notice that the contract was void. He stated that the amount of the contract was nearly twice the original amount, that the bid was let to three of Maxwell’s close friends, and that it was done in secret.

Editor Aldrich, in the next issue of the Freeman called for a more modest courthouse, but it took another six years before it was actually built.

In the summer months, as I sit and listen to one of Roger Steig’s band concerts, I think about the three lives that were lost in the construction of a courthouse that was never finished.