Mahaska County Courthouse - Oskaloosa, Iowa - Victorian Style Architecture on Waymarking.com

A courthouse in the Victorian Romanesque style. Stone belt courses at lintel and inpost level of each floor and wide facades into horizontal zones, in contrast with verticality produced by parapetted gables rising above the cornice line. The 1934 tower and entrance remodeling is Art Deco in style. The tower, in particular, produces an odd effect.

This courthouse is locally significant as the historical focus of county government, and of the political power and prestige derived from the community's status as the county seat. As center of county government, an Iowa town was reasonably assured of economic and population growth, and a prominent role in local social and political life. The county courthouse represents a significant public investment in a structure built not simply for utilitarian purposes, but also as a monument associated with the historical importance of county organization and development.