Benton County Courthouse - Warsaw, MO
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 38° 14.508 W 093° 22.849
15S E 466675 N 4232712
Third courthouse, still in use since 1887.
Waymark Code: WM119JC
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 09/12/2019
Views: 1
County of courthouse: Benton County
Location of courthouse: Van Buren St. & Main St., Warsaw
Phone: (660) 428-2900
Built: 1886-88
Architect: George A. Masters
Contractor: Maurice Barrett and Fred Busche
County Organized: Jan. 3, 1835
Named after: Thomas Hart Benton, U.S. Senator
County seat: Warsaw
"A defective foundation [in the 1842 courthouse] caused the courthouse to be condemned in 1881, and the court ordered the building sold to Waldo P. Johnson for $275 in December 1881.
"In May 1886 the court contracted for the third and present courthouse. James H. Lay superintended the building and employed architect George A. Masters to submit plans in June. One contract for building the foundations, walls, and roof was awarded Maurice Barrett, Sedalia, Missouri, for $6,620. The court received this portion of the building Dec. 28, 1886.
In April 1887 L.C. Steavenson, superintendent, accepted bids to finish the courthouse. The court authorized him to accept the low bid of Fred Busche, Lincoln, Missouri, in the amount of $2,469. This contract included plastering and adding cresting (ornamental ridging on walls or roofs) and finials (decorative tips of spires and gables). Busche completed his work in August 1887. Total cost was $9,089." ~ University of Missouri, Extension