Atchison County Courthouse -- Atchison KS
N 39° 33.956 W 095° 07.172
15S E 317929 N 4381727
The gorgeous late 19th-century Romanesque Revival Atchison County courthouse was built in 1896 stands tall on a hill in beautiful Atchison KS
Waymark Code: WMGRBK
Location: Kansas, United States
Date Posted: 04/04/2013
Views: 4
A Victorian-era Romanesque gem with a 112-foot tall clock tower, the Atchison Co. Courthouse is an eye-catching landmark for miles around. The beautiful grey ashlar quarried-stone courthouse has been serving the citizens of Atchison County KS as the seat of their local county government since 1896. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
This link to the National Register nomination form spells out more architectural details of this beautiful structure: (
visit link)
Blasterz are no architecture experts, but we know what we like. Our favorite feature on this courthouse is the lovely wide arched porch that spans the eastern entrance to the courthouse. Close second: the impressive but still elegant clock tower. Fun touch: the granite cornerstone -- the only bit of granite on the building :)
A pink glacial erratic at the northeast corner of the courthouse commemorates a campaign speech by Abraham Lincoln that happened across the street in 1859. We believe this is what led to the National Park Service finding that a significant event happened here, even though Lincoln actually spoke 40 years before this building was built, and he was at the Methodist Church across the street. It's still cool that he was nearby, in our opinion! And being rock geeks, we like the boulder --
The Atchison County Courthouse was closed for business when we went by. Hopefully another waymarker can go in -- we are betting that more wonderful building details are inside, yet to be discovered!