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 Harrison County Courthouse - Logan, Iowa Posted by:  iconions
N 41° 38.621 W 095° 47.383
15T E 267666 N 4613976
The Harrison County Courthouse is located between 6th and 7th Streets & 1st and 2nd Avenues in Logan, Iowa.
Waymark Code: WMY8ZF
Location: Iowa, United States
Date Posted: 05/12/2018
Views: 0
The following text is taken from History of Harrison County, Iowa, written by the people of Harrison County Iowa and published in 1891 by the National Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois.
In 1854, the county commenced building a courthouse at Magnolia, from funds derived from the sale of town lots. This was a small frame structure, but met the requirements of the day in which it was fashioned; however as the years rolled on, the elements caused this pioneer landmark of public work to decay and in 1873, it was considered as unsafe by the Board of Supervisors, and they, that year, caused the erection of a frame office building, in which the records and county business matters were kept until Logan was made the seat of justice, in 1876.
The courthouse at Logan was erected in 1876. It was situated within a level block of land given by the city. The structure was of brick and is 55 x 70 feet and two stories high. The first floor was divided into six offices - Auditor, Treasurer, Clerk, Recorder, Sheriff and School Superintendent. All but the last named was provided with a good fire-proof vault. The second floor of the building was used for court room purposes and jury rooms. The building was erected by contractors Yeisley & Stowell during the Centennial year. It was built by an appropriation of $5,000 on the part of the tax payers of the county and $9,000 donated by the people of Logan.
The first Logan courthouse was replaced in 1910 by the current courthouse, a 68 by 96 ft., three-story steel and concrete block building faced with Bedford limestone at a cost of $103,205.15. It was dedicated November 3, 1911 and included offices for all the County Officers plus a District Courtroom and the County Supervisors meeting room. The cornerstone notes that the supervisors at the time of its construction were: J. Holeton, Chairman, T. Chatburn, and F. Zahner.
- Harrison County, Iowa website
The early records of Harrison County were destroyed in September
of 1854 by a fire in the first crude log cabin used as a courthouse. The cause of this fire at Magnolia, the first county seat, remains unknown. Shortly after the fire, a small frame structure, two stories high, was erected for the purpose of housing county records and conducting county business. In 1873 the building was condemned by the authorities as unsafe and a new building was ordered to accommodate county records and county officials until 1876 when the courthouse was moved to Logan.
The first courthouse at Logan was a brick structure, 55 by 70 feet
and two stories high, which was completed in 1876. The total cost was $14,000, $5,000 of which was appropriated by the board of supervisors and $9,000 of which was donated by the people of Logan.
As early as 1890, citizens of the county realized that a new courthouse would soon be necessary to serve the growing needs of the county. In January of 1905, an architect from Omaha was secured to estimate the cost of repairing the old courthouse and building a new one. When the estimate was submitted to the board of supervisors, it informed them that over $14,000 would be necessary to repair the old structure and attach the necessary additions. The cost of a new building would be nearly six times that much. The question of a new courthouse was put to the electors of the county several tunes before it met with success. After the old courthouse was condemned in January of 1909, the county voted to sell bonds to raise money for a new building.
The cornerstone of the present courthouse was laid on October 5,
1910. The building is 100 feet by 72 feet and the top of its dome sits 77 feet above the street. The stone courthouse is made of 672,000 bricks and had a total cost of about $103,000.
- National Register Application
The Harrison County Courthouse, located in Logan, Iowa, United States, was built in 1911. 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 fifth building the county has used for court functions and county administration.
The first county seat in Harrison County was Magnolia. A log cabin served as the first courthouse. It was destroyed in a fire along with the county records. A second courthouse was built in 1854. The county raised the funds for its construction by selling town lots. The building was condemned as unsafe in 1873, and the county’s third courthouse was built the same year. It served the county for three years until Logan was named the county seat.
The first courthouse in Logan was built in 1876 for $14,000. An appropriation of $5,000 came from the county and $9,000 was donated from the people of Logan. Yeisley & Stowell were the contractors that built the building. The two-story brick structure measure 55 by 70 feet. Offices for the county Auditor, Treasurer, Clerk, Recorder, Sheriff and School Superintendent were on the first floor. The second floor contained the court room and jury rooms.
Plans for the present courthouse were begun in 1905. The cornerstone was laid on October 5, 1910 and it was dedicated on November 3, 1911. It was built at a cost of $103,205.15.
The Classical Revival building was designed by Joseph E. Mills. The three-story building measures 68 by 96 feet. The top of the dome is 77 feet (23.5 m) above the street. It is constructed in steel and concrete block and faced in Bedford stone. Four murals were placed in the main stairway during a redecorating program in 1920. They are the work of Frank Enders of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They were all done on canvas that was attached to the wall. The murals portray: the old courthouse in Magnolia, the first courthouse in Logan, a horn of plenty theme and Lady Justice.
- Harrison County Courthouse Wikipedia Entry Visit Instructions:
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