The Jones County Courthouse in

Anamosa, Iowa Anamosa is a city in Jones County, Iowa, Jones County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,450 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Jones County. History What is now Anamosa was founded as the settleme ...

, United States was built in 1937. It was listed 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 2003 as the "Jones County Court House." It is a part of the PWA-Era County Courthouses of IA Multiple Properties Submission, and is the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration.

History

The first Jones County Courthouse was built in 1847 for $800. The building measured , and was occupied on January 3, 1848. The county declared the building unsafe and vacated it in 1864. It was destroyed by fire in 1875. The county rented space until the city of Anamosa appropriated $6,000 to buy the second floor of the Shaw Block to insure the county seat would not move to Center Junction. A plan to build a courthouse in 1920 failed. There was, however, a lack of pride in the county facilities that were declining in condition that threatened the security of county records. with The county board of supervisors applied to the

Public Works Administration The Public Works Administration (PWA), part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by United States Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was ...

, or PWA, for a grant to build a new courthouse and a referendum was approved by 77 percent of voters on September 10, 1935.

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 ...

architects Dougher, Rich & Woodburn designed the new building. Excavation for the courthouse was begun once the PWA approved the grant. The

cornerstone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...

was laid on August 9, 1936. C.C. Larsen & Sons Co. of

Council Bluffs Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 62,799 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, te ...

won the contract to build the building. Completion was delayed because of contract delays and cost overruns. The building's final construction costs were $200,000. County offices moved into the building in August and the dedication was held on September 10, 1937. Nearly 6,000 people attended the ceremonies. Governor

Nelson G. Kraschel Nelson George Kraschel (October 27, 1889 – March 15, 1957) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as the 27th Governor of Iowa from 1937 to 1939. Early Life He was born on a farm near Macon, Illinois, in 1889, ...

delivered the main address. Other speakers included State PWA Director P.P. Hopkins and Justice J.M. Parsons of the

Iowa Supreme Court The Iowa Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Iowa. The Court is composed of a chief justice and six associate justices. The Court holds its regular sessions in Des Moines in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building located at 1111 ...

, who was a Jones County native.

Architecture

The architectural style of the building is known as Depression Modern or

PWA Moderne The Art Deco style, which originated in France just before World War I, had an important impact on architecture and design in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. The most notable examples are the skyscrapers of New York City, including the ...

. The building features a symmetrical

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

with a central section that is flanked by two lower sections. The exterior is composed of buff-colored brick and Bedford limestone trim. It is three stories tall and built on a raised basement. On the interior, the central corridors extend the length of the building, with the county offices opening onto the corridors. The building features multi-colored

terrazzo Terrazzo is a composite material, poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable material, poured with a cementitious binder (for chemical bind ...

floors, marble

wainscoting Panelling (or paneling in the United States) is a millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials. Panelling was developed in antiquity t ...

, and acoustic tiles. The courtroom was originally decorated in dark wood tones and

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

ornamentation. The courthouse is located on a large rectangular plot of land overlooking the

Anamosa State Penitentiary Anamosa State Penitentiary is a Medium/Maximum security penitentiary prison located in the Jones County, Iowa, Jones County community of Anamosa, Iowa – approximately northeast of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Building The building was commissioned in ...

on the west side of town. The land had previously been a city park and is a

contributing site 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 distr ...

on the courthouse's nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. The original flagpole in front of the building is a

contributing object 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 distr ...

. The two veterans monuments on the property, one from the 1970s or 1980s, and one from 2002 are non-contributing objects.

References

{{NRHP in Jones County, Iowa Buildings and structures in Jones County, Iowa County courthouses in Iowa Government buildings completed in 1937 PWA Moderne architecture in Iowa Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Public Works Administration in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Jones County, Iowa Anamosa, Iowa