The Franklin County Courthouse in

Hampton, Iowa Hampton is a town in Franklin County, Iowa, United States. The population was 4,337 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Franklin County. Geography Hampton's longitude and latitude coordinates, in decimal form are 42.74316 ...

, United States was built in 1891. It was individually 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. In 2003 it was included as a contributing property in the

Hampton Double Square Historic District The Hampton Double Square Historic District is a historic district located in Hampton, Iowa, United States. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2003. At the time of its nomination it contained 43 resources, whic ...

. The courthouse is the third facility to house court functions and county administration.

History

Initially, Franklin County business was enacted in the home of Judge James B. Reeve. County commissioners selected a place called Jefferson as the county seat in deference to Judge Reeve who was from Jefferson, Ohio. However, one county commissioner disagreed with the proposal, and with the support of county citizens, Hampton became the county seat. Commissioners constructed a single-story frame building in 1857 to serve as the first courthouse. They later sold it to a church, which used it as a home. It was later used as a stable. County records were kept at a school until a new courthouse built of stone was constructed in the middle of the square. It measured and cost $12,500. The present

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

building, by

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 ...

architect T.D. Allen, was completed in 1891 at a cost of $60,000. The courthouse is a fine example of the Romanesque Revival style popular in the late 19th century. It was built during a transitional period of county government that saw movement from simple utilitarian structures to more elaborate structures that reflected the need for more space and bestowed a sense of dignity to its work. with

Architecture

The courthouse is a two-story brick structure built over a raised basement. It is roughly rectangular in shape, and measures . The high foundation of the building and surround of the large round-arch main entrance is composed of rusticated stone. All of the windows feature stone ornamentation with rusticated stone surrounds on the first-floor windows. The building also features a machicolated cornice and clusters of circular chimneys. It is capped with a

hipped roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thus, ...

and a tall domed clock tower. The tower itself has a four-faced clock and a statue of a classical figure at each corner of the

bell chamber The belfry is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached to a city h ...

. A statue of

Lady Justice Lady Justice ( la, Iustitia) is an allegorical personification of the moral force in judicial systems. Her attributes are scales, a sword and sometimes a blindfold. She often appears as a pair with Prudentia. Lady Justice originates from the ...

is on top of the dome.

References

{{NRHP in Franklin County, Iowa Government buildings completed in 1891 Romanesque Revival architecture in Iowa Hampton, Iowa Buildings and structures in Franklin 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 Franklin County, Iowa Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Iowa 1891 establishments in Iowa