The Benton County Courthouse, located in

Vinton, Iowa Vinton is a city in Benton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 4,938 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, a decrease from 5,102 in 2000 United States Census, 2000. It is also part of the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Cedar Rapids Ceda ...

, United States, was built in 1906. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1976 as a part of the County Courthouses in Iowa Thematic Resource. The courthouse is the fourth building the county has used for court functions and county administration.

History

Benton County's first courthouse was a log structure, but it did not have a roof or floor when they started to use it. The court met in a log home during inclement weather. Because of a dispute over the location of the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

, the second courthouse stood unfinished until 1852 when the main floor of the frame structure was finished to provide space for a courtroom. County officers occupied two rooms in the unfinished second floor before the building was destroyed by fire the following year. The county records were rescued by three men, one of whom died as a result of his injuries in the fire. The county's third courthouse was built at a cost of $13,000 and dedicated in December 1856. The two-story

Federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

-style brick building was capped with an octagon-shaped

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, fro ...

. The second and third courthouses occupied the same location as the present courthouse. The

cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over tim ...

for it was laid on October 14, 1905, and it was completed in 1906 for $105,000.

Architecture

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, the present courthouse was built by George Rickman & Sons.''Improvement Bulletin'' 22 July 1905: 16. A simplified version of the Beaux Arts style, the building features a central tower, which makes it one of the local community's most prominent landmarks. with It contains a four-faced illuminated clock, a B-flat bell, and it is topped with a dome. The two-story structure sits on a raised basement, and is made up of a central pavilion that is flanked by two side pavilions. The basement level of the building is composed of rusticated Kettle River

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

while the upper two floors are clad in Buckeye gray sandstone. Beside the central tower, the central pavilion contains the only decorative elements of the building, which are found in its round-arch window and its

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

References

{{NRHP in Benton County, Iowa Government buildings completed in 1906 Vinton, Iowa Beaux-Arts architecture in Iowa Buildings and structures in Benton County, Iowa Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa County courthouses in Iowa Clock towers in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Benton County, Iowa 1906 establishments in Iowa