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 Decatur County Courthouse - Leon, Iowa Posted by:  iconions
N 40° 44.445 W 093° 44.801
15T E 436957 N 4510246
This two-and-a-half story brick building is located at 207 N. Main Street in Leon, Iowa
Waymark Code: WMWB17
Location: Iowa, United States
Date Posted: 08/05/2017
Views: 6
The Decatur County Courthouse, located in Leon, Iowa, United States, was built in 1908. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 as a part of the County Courthouses in Iowa Thematic Resource. The courthouse is the sixth building the county has used for court functions and county administration.
The first courthouse in Decatur County was a log structure built in Leon in for $375. The county soon outgrew the building and it was replaced by a small structure that was declared unusable soon after it was built. The next courthouse was destroyed in a windstorm before it was finished, and a fire destroyed the fourth courthouse along with the county records. The fifth courthouse was a brick structure that was built for $20,000. In 1876, thieves attempted to open the Treasurer’s safe and when they set off explosives they blew up that side of the building, but were unable to crack the safe. The building was rebuilt and served as the county courthouse until the present building replaced it in 1908. Iron, stone, steel, tile, brick, marble and granite were all used in its construction.
- Wikipedia Entry
Decatur County's first courthouse was erected in Leon in 1851 for a total expenditure of $375. Made of logs, it was 20 by 22 feet and 14 feet high. After only a few years, the crude log structure was outgrown and a new courthouse built to replace it. The old courthouse was turned into a hotel.
The buildings which followed this old log courthouse, until the one which stands today, seemed to exist under a streak of bad luck. The first was a small frame building which was soon declared unusable. A new one was begun but a windstorm destroyed it before it could be finished. The next was razed by a fire on March 31, 1874. Because of a lack of fireproof vaults in which to store the valuable county records, they were all burned in the fire except for two books which were rescued. Fortunately, $33,000 in cash was kept safely in the Treasurer's vault.
After the misfortune of the previous courthouses, the people of the county were determined to build one which would be more resistant to fire and wind. Consequently, in 1875, at an approximate cost of $20,000, a brick courthouse was completed. However, as it happened, it was not burglar-proof. Two thieves decided to crack the Treasurer's safe. They broke in during the night and worked under the theory that if they set off a large explosion under the safe, the door would spring open. However, instead of blowing open the door of the safe, they blew up the entire side of the building. The safe was later found under the rubble and intact. It was the same one that survived the previous courthouse fire. Because the day on which this occurred was April 1, 1877, many people who heard the explosion thought only that someone was playing an April Fool joke. The two-year-old courthouse was rebuilt at great expense and served the county until 1908 when the next courthouse was completed. This time the courthouse was built of "iron, steel, stone, tile, brick, marble, and granite"—completely fireproof and a safe place to keep valuable records. This must have been a desirable combination, as this excellent structure is still standing today.
- National Register Application Visit Instructions:
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