Harper County Courthouse - Anthony, Kansas
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 37° 09.223 W 098° 01.766
14S E 586184 N 4112365
Built in 1907, the courthouse replaced a smaller and more modest courthouse and represented the county's prosperity at the time.
Waymark Code: WM10FWD
Location: Kansas, United States
Date Posted: 05/01/2019
Views: 4
County of courthouse: Harper County
Location of courthouse: Steadman St. & Jennings Ave., Anthony
Phone: 1-877-537-2110
Fax: 1-877-537-2110
Architect: George P. Washburn and Son of Ottawa
Architectural Style: Romanesque Revival
"The Harper County Courthouse faces west on North Jennings avenue in Anthony. It is a
three story rectangular brick structure with full basement, four polygonal tower pavilions
at the corners, and a square clock tower rising from the center of the hipped roof. The
building measures 100 feet by 70 feet and the central tower is 100 feet tall.
"Each facade of the courthouse is symmetrically arranged around a central axis
established by a pedimented roof gable. The east and west facades are virtually identical,
the only difference being a subtle variation in window treatment. Each of these facades
has polygonal corner tower pavilions that frame the central pedimented bay. These central
bays each have a straight roofed stone porch decorated with pressed metal entablature,
piers with banded rustication, and balustrade with stones laid in an open checkerboard
pattern. The staircases which lead to the porches from ground level have unusual perforated
side copings.
"But if the new courthouse was to be practical and sturdy and contain all the latest
mechanical systems, including toilets and lighting, it was also intended that it should
"adorn the local seat of government." All who witnessed the cornerstone ceremonies,
reported the Bulletin, appreciated that "on this foundation there should rise a building
which would be an ornament to the city and a beautiful and useful temple for the use of
the people of the whole county." The board of commissioners had traveled about the state
to gather ideas from recently completed courthouses, and to contemporary eyes the style
of architecture they selected, one that utilized simplified romanesque revival forms,
gave "the effect of solidity so much desired in public buildings." Decorative plastering in the courtroom, tiled wainscoting and floors, cast-iron grillwork and other decorative
finishes, including the much-admired tower clock and the sculpture of Justice, satisfied
the public's sense of aesthetic suitability." ~ NRHP Nomintaion Form
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