The descriptions of Madison County
courthouses are taken from the History and Business
Directory of Madison County, Iowa, published in 1869,
and from various other county history resources.
Researched,
transcribed and edited by Kent G. Transier
![](images/courthouse_wood_s.jpg)
FIRST MADISON
COUNTY COURTHOUSE
After laying out the town of Winterset, one of the first
tasks of the county board was to construct a place where
justice could be administered. The court house was built of
logs on property that is now known as Monumental Park. The
cost of the building was $150. Being one of the first public
buildings in the county (the others being churches), it was
a multi-use facility, being used as a courthouse, church,
school house, hotel and tavern. During the very early years,
a continuous stream of covered wagons traveled through
Winterset on their way west and the only place to stay the
night in bad weather was the courthouse floor. The original
courthouse, shown in the above photo, was eventually covered
with siding and moved from its Monumental park location. The
photo is circa late 1890s.
![](images/2nd_courthouse.jpg)
SECOND
MADISON COUNTY COURTHOUSE
As the county grew and prospered, the log courthouse became
inadequate. Madison
County commenced the erection of a magnificent Court House
building in the Spring of 1868. At the time of writing
(1869), the foundations have been laid, and the walls
finished above the water tables. It is expected to be
finished within three years from the time it was first
commenced. When completed, it will be the finest Court-House
building in the State. (Editor's note - It appears from
comments found in the Madisonian that the new courthouse was
occupied sometime in the first half of 1871).
The
description of the building is as follows: The form of the
building will be a Greek Cross, each arm of the Cross
presenting a front, and each front exactly alike. Over each
front will be a fine piazza, with stone columns for its
support. This will stand eight feet above the natural level
of the ground, and four flights of stone steps, fifty feet
wide will lead to it, supported on either side by stone
balustrades. The dimensions of the building, not including
the piazzas, will be from end to end of opposite arms of the
cross one hundred feet, and the width of each arm will be
fifty feet.
The
basement will extend, as we have said, eight feet above the
level of the ground, and will be graded up three feet. That
above ground will be cut stone. This basement will be
floored with concrete and brick, and will be used for
storing fuel and other purposes.
The first story will be some twelve or fifteen feet in
height and will contain the rooms for the county officers,
and one room for city purposes. It will also have four
fire-proof vaults. The external will be built of stone, cut
in rustic, like the Bank front.
The
second story will be about twenty-two feet high and will
contain the Court-Room, Judge’s and Attorney’s Rooms,
Grand Jury Room, and several Petit-Jury Rooms. The
Court-Room will be forty-five feet by fifty-four feet, and
will open into a large corridor. The ventilating
arrangements are ample and perfect. The outside face of this
story will be of dressed stone.
The
stone out of which the entire building is to be made is a
magnesian limestone and is taken from quarries on the banks
of the Middle River, just 1/2 mile from the point of use. Our State Geologist calls
this stone “gray massive limestone.”
The
arms of the Cross not used by the Court-Room, are to be
divided by a floor, giving in three of the arms a third
story. Two of these will be left unfinished; in the other
will be the jail, which is a room about twenty-three by
forty-six feet. It will be entirely lined-floor sides,
ceiling—with boiler-plate Iron. Inside this room there are
to be eight Iron cells, with all modern Improvements. This
makes our jail above the reach of outsiders and entirely
safe, giving at the same time good ventilation and avoiding
dampness.
The
whole is to be surmounted with a grand dome, made of wood
but covered with metal. In the dome is to be placed by the
contractor a 1500 pound bell and a large clock
with four faces. From the center of the clock to the ground
will be just ninety-nine feet. The top of the spire will reach
163 feet from the ground. The dome Is to
be a 40 foot wide octagon, and on four sides will be open blinds and on the
other four sides glass doors. A flight of good wide stairs
leads to this part of the dome which will be floored and
given a room over thirty feet in diameter. When completed,
with wide blinds to all windows and in all respects ready
for use, it will cost about $75,000.
In
the fall of 1871, after the courthouse had been completed
and occupied (final cost was $106,000...things never change,
do they...), there was considerable antagonism between the
board of supervisors and the citizens regarding the use of
the courtroom. The board of supervisors designated it to be
used for judicial proceedings only whereas the citizens
wanted to use it as a general use room for meetings,
concerts, and other gatherings. By the end of 1871, the
board of supervisor's position was still being enforced.
Another issue with the new courthouse was that the chimneys
had been built too small and weren't providing sufficient
draft. A workaround for this problem was in place by the end
of the year. Perhaps this workaround contributed to the
courthouse's premature destruction.
The
second courthouse had a useful life of about 4 years before
being totally destroyed by fire in
1875. It was not insured
and so the county citizens lost $106,000, a princely sum for
that era.
![](images/3rd_courthouse.jpg)
THIRD
MADISON COUNTY COURTHOUSE
As
soon as the ashes cooled, plans were started for a yet a
third courthouse, very similar in design to the second one.
Construction started as soon as the plans were drawn up and
the new courthouse was completed and the building occupied
in 1878 at a cost of $130,000. It still serves today as the county courthouse and is
listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A very
early photo of this courthouse by Winterset photographer Ed Hyder
can be seen here.
|