Lafayette County Courthouse - Lexington, Missouri - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

"The Lafayette County Courthouse in Lexington, Missouri, is significant as a fine example of antebellum architecture of the "Classic Revival" design. It has additional significance as one of the oldest continually used courthouses in the state of Missouri.

The original plans for the courthouse exhibit some of the purest American Classic Revival thought in Missouri. In design, the structure cautiously remains within the established rules of classical-temple form. There is a portico across the entire front and a roof ridge running from front to back. The roof is low of pitch and originally void of any projections. All the windows and doors are correctly trabeated. The arch, which has no place in Greek-temple architecture, is carefully avoided. The wall surfaces are. as smooth as brick allows and the structure in painted the traditional white.

The present Lafayette County Courthouse is the third such structure constructed by the county, yet it is one of the oldest continually used courthouses in the state. [It is now the oldest continuously used courthouse in Missouri, the previous oldest in Independence is no longer used as a courthouse]  The first courthouse at Lexington, built in 1825, served the county for only a short period of years. Because of its poor construction, the County Court replaced this structure in 1832. With the movement of Lexington's commercial and residential districts away from the original townsite towards the Missouri River in the 1840's, the county decided to move the site of the courthouse to the new center of the town's activity.

The County Court, meeting on March 15, 1847, ordered that "a New Court-House be erected on the public square in the city of Lexington.,. and that Silas Silver, John Carton and Robert Aull be appointed Commissioners on the part of the county to contract for and superintend the building of the same."  The Commissioner selected the plans of William Daugherty, a local architect, and construction of the $12,000 structure began promptly. In October, 1847 the Lafayette County Court awarded a $840 contract to Elijah Littlejohn and Alexander McHaddin for the building of a cupola on the newly completed courthouse.

The Lafayette County Courthouse is well known for a cannon ball lodged in one of the large columns of the building's north side. This occurred during the Battle of Lexington which was fought between Federal and Missouri State Guard forces on September 18-20, 1861. But more importantly, the courthouse is known throughout Missouri for its distinctive architecture and age." - National Register Nomination form

Street address: Public Sq. Lexington, Missouri County / Borough / Parish: Lafayette Year listed: 1970 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1825-1849 Historic function: Government Current function: Government Privately owned?: no Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   01/28/2012 iconions visited it 08/15/2007 YoSam. visited it

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