The Harrison County Courthouse, located in Logan, Iowa, United States, was built in 1911. 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 v ...

in 1981 as a part of the County Courthouses in Iowa Thematic Resource. The courthouse is the fifth building the county has used for court functions and county administration.

History

The first

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 ...

in Harrison County was

Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...

. A log cabin served as the first courthouse. It was destroyed in a fire along with the county records. A second courthouse was built in 1854. The county raised the funds for its construction by selling town lots. The building was condemned as unsafe in 1873, and the county's third courthouse was built the same year. It served the county for three years until Logan was named the county seat. The first courthouse in Logan was built in 1876 for $14,000. An appropriation of $5,000 came from the county and $9,000 was donated from the people of Logan. Yeisley & Stowell were the contractors that built the building. The two-story brick structure measure . Offices for the county Auditor, Treasurer, Clerk, Recorder, Sheriff, and School Superintendent were on the first floor. The second floor contained the courtroom and jury rooms. Plans for the present courthouse were begun in 1905. The cornerstone was laid on October 5, 1910, and it was dedicated on November 3, 1911. It was built at a cost of $103,205.15.

Architecture

The Neoclassical building was designed by

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

architect Joseph E. Mills. The three-story building measures . The top of the dome is above the street. It is constructed in steel and concrete block and faced in Bedford stone. The east and west elevations each have three projecting pavilions. The central pavilion on each side is more ornate with its tall round-arch window set between Ionic columns ''

in antis An anta (pl. antæ, antae, or antas; Latin, possibly from ''ante'', "before" or "in front of"), or sometimes parastas (pl. parastades), is an architectural term describing the posts or pillars on either side of a doorway or entrance of a Greek ...

''. The building 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, ...

supported by a

modillion A modillion is an ornate bracket, more horizontal in shape and less imposing than a corbel. They are often seen underneath a cornice which it helps to support. Modillions are more elaborate than dentils (literally translated as small teeth). All ...

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

. The low cupula on top features cut corners, three oculus windows on each face, and a curved tile roof. Its exterior is relatively simple when compared with its richly-appointed interior public spaces. with It has a lozenge-shaped rotunda, richly-patterned tile floors, and a metal staircase. The rotunda is separated from the halls by column screens. Four murals were placed in the main stairway during a redecorating program in 1920. They are the work of Frank Enders of

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

. They were all done on canvas that was attached to the wall. The murals portray the old courthouse in Magnolia, the first courthouse in Logan, a horn of plenty theme, and Lady Justice. The significance of the courthouse is derived from its association with county government, and the political power and prestige of Logan as the

References

{{NRHP in Harrison County, Iowa Government buildings completed in 1911 Neoclassical architecture in Iowa Buildings and structures in Harrison County, Iowa Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa County courthouses in Iowa 1911 establishments in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Harrison County, Iowa

History

Architecture

See also

References