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: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...

, 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 ...

of Jasper County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Built in 1876, it is the third

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

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 (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

: 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 is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

: 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 * Story, a 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 * Story (American English), or storey (British ...

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 gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

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 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, ...

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 may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

, 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 cult ...

-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 Buildings and structures in Jasper County, Illinois County courthouses in Illinois Neoclassical architecture in Illinois