The Appanoose County Courthouse is located in the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Centerville, Iowa Centerville is a city in and the county seat of Appanoose County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,412 in the 2020 census, a decline from 5,924 in 2000. After the turn of the 20th century Centerville's coal mining industry attracted ...

, United States. The courthouse was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1981. In 1997 it was included as a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...

in the Courthouse Square Historic District.

History

The first structure used for court purposes in Appanoose County was also used as a storeroom and a blacksmith's shop. The first true courthouse was a structure built in 1848 for $160 in Centerville. After the county outgrew this building, court sessions were held in the Methodist and Presbyterian churches while another courthouse was built. It was a two-story, brick building built for $23,000. In 1891 it was declared unsafe and condemned. The architects for the present courthouse was the

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

architectural firm of Wetherell and Gage. with In February 1903 the contract, exclusive of heating and plumbing, was awarded to William Peatman, the amount of his bid being $69,900. The cornerstone was laid on May 21, 1903. The courthouse was dedicated on September 12, 1904, and rededicated in a festive ceremony on September 12, 2004.

Architecture

The two-story rusticated

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

structure is built on a high foundation. Its eclectic appearance combines large polygonal bays and rock-faced stone from the medieval revivals with classical details found in the

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

s and the

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

ed main entrance. A large round arch window is located over the main entrance, and the building is capped with a two-stage central clock tower.

References

External links

{{NRHP in Appanoose County, Iowa Government buildings completed in 1903 Centerville, Iowa County courthouses in Iowa Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Appanoose County, Iowa Buildings and structures in Appanoose County, Iowa Clock towers in Iowa Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Iowa 1903 establishments in Iowa