Then Neosho Commercial Historic District is located in and around the original Court Square of Neosho, Missouri. The district is composed of one to four-story commercial buildings constructed primarily between 1868 in 1915. The district retains its original street and block pattern from its original survey and plan. Within the district or 41 buildings of which 33 would be considered contributing to the character of the district. On the courthouse lawn is a modern pergola which is included as a noncontributing structure.
Neosho became an important commercial and trading center after the Civil War. By the late 1860s a series of one in two-story brick commercial buildings were constructed on the Court Square facing the courthouse. These buildings were typical one part and two-part commercial blocks constructed in Missouri during the 19th century. Common details for these buildings include storefronts with display windows and cast iron columns or pilasters and upper façades with sheet-metal or brick decoration. The Italianate style with its arched entrances and bracketed cornices was used for many of the buildings constructed in these years.
By the early 20th century, the Neosho court square contained solid blocks of masonry buildings on all four sides facing the courthouse. The tallest of these, the four-story Haas Building was completed in 1906. The majority of the buildings constructed after 1900 on the square rebuilt with brick and glass storefronts and upper façades details such as rectangular windows and cornices of corbeled brick, cast concrete, or terra-cotta. Several bank buildings were constructed with Colonial Revival details in the remodeling of the First National Bank in 1922 resulted in an attempt the front, Neoclassical façade.
In addition to the commercial buildings the court square and environs has also been the center for county and city public buildings. The present Newton County courthouse was built in the center of the square in 1936 and replaced an earlier Second Empire style courthouse built in 1878. The oldest public building in the district is the Newton County jail completed in 1888, this second Empire style brick building is located one block north of the square and housed the county jail for almost 50 years. During the early 20th century city offices were located in the Haas Building prior to the construction of the auditorium in city hall on W. Main St. in 1938. Both the courthouse and the city hall buildings were constructed in Art Deco style by architect Neal Davis.
The original historic District had a boundary increase in 2007 which added some of the buildings in the 100 block of S. Wood St. The overall integrity of the district has remained intact and most of the buildings are being used. There are some vacant buildings in the district however they are being maintained and are in good condition.