Caldwell County Courthouse - Kingston, Missouri
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 39° 38.574 W 094° 02.304
15S E 410901 N 4388638
built in 1898 after fire destroyed an earlier structure
Waymark Code: WM120XW
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 01/27/2020
Views: 3
County of Courthouse: Caldwell County
Location of courthouse: Main St. & Washington St. (MO 13), Kingston
courthouse for 43rd Judicial Circuit
Architect: Grant L. Middaugh
Architectural Style: Romanesque Revival
Built: 1898
"The Caldwell County Courthouse at Kingston, Missouri, is a
physical manifestation of the prosperity of a nineteenth century Missouri agricultural county. The courthouse, built in
1898 after fire destroyed an earlier structure, illustrates
a pervasive assumption among Caldwell countians that their
wealth and security were assured. The building itself was a
monument to the affluence of Caldwell County and a belief
that the future of agriculture was bright. Local newspapers
consistently argued that Caldwell County was worthy of a magnificent seat of justice and that a modest structure would
not suffice. This particular argument transcended the ration
ale that a good courthouse was necessary only to protect records and provide suitable court facilities, and suggests a
characteristic of the wealthy agrarian region in the optimistic years of the late gilded age.
"The Caldwell County Courthouse is a two-story red-brick structure set upon a regular ashlar foundation. The building measures 74 by 69 feet, and has major entrances on the south and
east. A secondary entrance on the north provides access to the
ground floor and to the basement. Architect Middaugh's plans
provided for offices on the ground floor flanking a main north-south corridor, and included a stairway on each side on the main
(south) entrance leading to the second story." NRHP Nomination Form