(former) Jones County Courthouse - Anamosa, Iowa - Courthouses on Waymarking.com

Constructed in 1865, this 2-story commercial building is built of soft, Anamosa fired brick of an orange-red color and now painted. Much of the paint has worn off. The storefront is an entirely modern design of metal frame and glass and rests on an original limestone plate. Original transoms might remain intact under cover-up materials above the store window. The second floor features three bays. The two east bays have foreshortened and replacement windows with original limestone lintels and sills. The west bay was enlarged at one time and now has a replacement window and in-fill materials in its cavity. Its original limestone lintel is missing, although its original limestone sill remains. A brickworked cornice with inset panels and a simple cornice with dentils surmount the upper story. Fixed metal canopies extend across the front facade of this building and its neighbor to the east, the Peet & Cox Building at 206 West Main Street. H(orace). C. Metcalf built this property. He was born in May 1821 in Indiana and came to Anamosa in 1845, one of its early settlers and businessmen. Metcalf engaged in mercantile pursuits for 20 years and then began a banking business in 1869. Two years later, he organized the First National Bank and was elected its president. Metcalf served in this office until January 1879, when the national banking system was established and Metcalf discontinued the business, engaging again in private banking. The First National Bank operated from this building. The second story served as a courtroom for the County of Jones County. Although the replacement windows on the second floor are visually distracting, allowance should be made for the building's great age in evaluating it, particularly since its frieze and cornice remain virtually intact and contribute to the rhythm of these important architectural details along the historic district's streetscape. The date of this block's construction, 1865, and the name of its early owner, H. C. Metcalf, are as documented by an article in The Anamosa Eureka, May 18, 1865. The near identical design of this building's facade and its neighbor to the east, the Peet & Cox, suggests that it also was constructed by William T. Shaw.

The first Jones County Courthouse was a 30 by 40 foot structure, built for $800. It was first occupied on January 3, 1848. The building was vacated in 1864 when the board of supervisors decided that it was better fit for bats and owls than for court. It was destroyed by fire in 1875.

The county rented space for offices and court until a county seat contest heated up between Center Junction and Anamosa. Anamosa appropriated $6,000 to purchase the second floor of Shaw's block to be used by the county so long as the county seat remained in that city.

On September 10, 1935, an election was held, resulting in 76.8 percent of the voters favoring a new courthouse. The building was completed at a cost of $200,000 in 1937.