The Jasper County Courthouse is a government building in

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: People * Newton (surname), including a list of people with the surname * ...

, 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 ...

of Jasper County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Built in 1876, it is the third

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...

in the county's history. In 1831, the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

divided

Crawford County Crawford County is the name of eleven counties in the United States: * Crawford County, Arkansas * Crawford County, Georgia * Crawford County, Illinois * Crawford County, Indiana * Crawford County, Iowa * Crawford County, Kansas * Crawford County, ...

into three counties, due to its inconveniently large size, and the central portion was named "Jasper County".''Counties of Cumberland, Jasper, and Richland, Illinois : historical and biographical''.

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

: F.A. Battey, 1884. No suitable community existing in the new county's boundaries, the law creating the county also appointed a three-man commission to choose a location for a new

, which was to be named "Newton". The location chosen was donated by an early settler, Louis W. Jordan, who rightly suspected that donating some of his land to the county would increase the value of the rest of his land.Weiser, Dennis. ''Illinois courthouses: an illustrated history''.

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the List of cities in Virginia, most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeaster ...

: Donning, 2009, 69. Although the county initially existed on paper only, it was completely organized at the beginning of 1835. Louis Jordan's house served as the location of some early government meetings until the county built its first courthouse, a rude log building; it also served as a church building and schoolhouse, and although the county later sold it, the old courthouse lasted at least into the 1880s. Jasper County's first permanent courthouse was a two-

story Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Narrative, an account of imaginary or real people and events ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting ** News story, an event or topic reported by a news orga ...

brick building, measuring on the long sides and on the short. Like its predecessor, the second courthouse was periodically used for religious worship, with a Baptist preacher being particularly remembered for his activities there. Although it was accepted by the county government in late 1841, poor finances prevented the building's completion, and over the next 35 years, the county was constantly paying for repairs — some of which required donations by civic-minded residents. In 1876, the county government finally gave up on the old building and appointed a committee to examine courthouses in nearby counties for use as models. The newly built Richland County Courthouse was chosen, and after ornamental elements were removed from the design, a contract for $34,000 was issued. At completion, the building possessed a dome, but its structural integrity was compromised while it was being repaired to stop leaks, and it was nearly carried off by an 1880 windstorm. Since that time, the Neoclassical dome and the central tower on which it sat have been removed, as have been 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 ...

above the main entrance and the

hip roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downward to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope, with variants including Tented roof, tented roofs and others. Thus, a hipped roof has no gables or other ve ...

with its chimneys. Otherwise, the building retains much of its original structure: a two-story brick building, cruciform in shape, built on a stone

foundation Foundation(s) or The Foundation(s) may refer to: Common uses * Foundation (cosmetics), a skin-coloured makeup cream applied to the face * Foundation (engineering), the element of a structure which connects it to the ground, and transfers loads f ...

, and entered by climbing steps to a

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

-sheltered main entrance.

References

External links

Image gallery
{{coord, 38, 59, 25, N, 88, 9, 43, W, display=title Government buildings completed in 1876 Brick buildings and structures in Illinois Buildings and structures in Jasper County, Illinois County courthouses in Illinois Neoclassical architecture in Illinois