County of Courthouse: Reynolds County.
Location of Courthouse: Green St. & Main St., Centerville.
Some Courthouse History:
In 1845 when Reynolds County was organized, Lesterville was designated as the first county seat. Courts met in the home of Joseph McNails until a small, log courthouse was built in 1846-47. Fire destroyed this structure and all county records in 1862.
For the next three years courts met in private homes until the county seat moved to Centerville. The court authorized construction of another small building of logs or rough lumber for court purposes in 1865, but it too burned on Nov. 24 or 25, 1871. The following day the court met in the courtyard by the ruins and appropriated $10,000 for a new building.
The third and present courthouse, a two-story brick building, originally measuring 50 by 40 feet, reportedly cost $8,000, less than the $10,000 the court had appropriated in 1871 (Figure 1). The original specifications, which are on file at the courthouse, called for a dome and lantern, but these apparently were never built.
In the 1930s when Work Projects Administration projects helped counties in building new courthouses, it was out of the question for Reynolds since there were insufficient funds to sponsor the county share. Instead, the court bought for $600 a two-story, 24-by-40-foot frame building and moved it to the southwest corner of the square.
The 1871 courthouse continues in use, a typical example of a courthouse design found in Missouri during the 19th century. The Reynolds County courthouse is one of the few in Missouri over 100 years old.
Some History of the County:
Reynolds County owes its beginning to two fur trappers, Henry Fry and Andrew Henry. Henry Fry, the first white inhabitant of the county, settled here in 1812. Andrew Henry came in 1816. Other pioneers soon followed and slowly the narrow valleys along the numerous small streams became dotted with picturesque log cabins. Reynolds County named for Thomas Reynolds, Missouri's 7th Governor was organized Feb. 28, 1845, by the authority of the 13th General Assembly. William C. Love, Landon Copeland and James Crownover were appointed by Governor Edwards to serve as the Governing Body, then known as the Justices of the County Court. He also chose Marvin Munger as sheriff and John Buford as surveyor. These three Justices chose Colin E. Campbell as Circuit and County Clerk. Pate Buford, a brother to John, had been elected in 1844 as Shannon County State Representative and through his diligence, Reynolds became one of 19 counties organized in 1845. Pate Buford was elected in 1846 as the County's first Representative. The first County Court selected 14 of the best qualified men in the various communities to the important positions of Justice of the Peace.
Aryes Hudspeth, John Miller, and Moses Carty were selected in the Legislative Act of 1845 to locate and lay out a permanent county seat. After due consideration, Centerville was chosen. As specified by the General Assembly, Lesterville and the home of Joseph McNail, was used as the first meeting place for the Circuit Court and County Court until a permanent Seat of Justice was established. James George of Madison County was given the contract to build the court house, which he completed in 1849. This brick structure survived until 1863 when Colonel Timothy Reeves of the 15th Missouri Calvary (Confederate) surprised Capt. Bartlett's Co. C of the 3rd Missouri State Militia, took them captive, burned the court house with all it's records. A new court house was built after the Civil War which met with a similar fate in 1871. The structure you see today was built by John Johnston and James B. Barnes in 1872 at a cost of $8,000. Reynolds County's citizens have met and overcome many adversities in the past. They stand ready to face the challenges of the future.