The Jasper County Courthouse is located in Newton, Iowa, United States, and was built from 1909 to 1911. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. In 2014 it was included as a

contributing property 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 distri ...

in the Newton Downtown Historic District.

History

Court was first held in

Jasper County Jasper County is the name of eight counties in the United States of America. All are named in honor of Sergeant William Jasper, a hero of the Revolutionary War. Five counties share a boundary with a Newton County, named for John Newton John ...

in 1846 in a one-room addition to the log cabin of Matthew D. Springer. The first courthouse was built of lumber in 1847; it was and cost a total of $87.50. That courthouse was later moved to a farm near Newton. A second courthouse was a

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

structure that was faced with limestone and built in 1857 at a total cost of $26,600. Its basement was sandstone. The building featured

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 ...

s that extended from the building that were held up by Ionic columns. A cupola that rose above the ground.

Current courthouse

The third and current courthouse was dedicated in 1911. The simplified version of the Beaux Arts style was designed by the prominent

Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

architectural firm of

Proudfoot & Bird Proudfoot & Bird was an American architectural firm that designed many buildings throughout the Midwest region of the United States. Originally established in 1882, it remains active through its several successors, and since 2017 has been known as ...

. with It is built of Indiana limestone except for the doors and window casings which are wooden. American general and Iowa politician

James B. Weaver James Baird Weaver (June 12, 1833 – February 6, 1912) was a member of the United States House of Representatives and two-time candidate for President of the United States. Born in Ohio, he moved to Iowa as a boy when his family claimed a ...

wrote of the current courthouse in the 1912 county history, "long after the pages of this county history are worn and turned yellow with age, in all human probability this building will stand in all its massive beauty". The Jasper County Medical Society held their annual meetings at the courthouse. The courthouse measures with a

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...

that rises . The clock was created with the help of private donations, and its faces are set into the parapets around the tower. The interior has ceramic tile and marble, and freestanding column screens divide the hallways from the rotunda. The outside of the building is decorated during the Christmas season. There was a renovation of the courthouse in 1986 that fixed the interior and involved the dome and paintings. Then-governor of Iowa Terry Branstad visited the courthouse for its 100th anniversary on July 4, 2011. The significance of the courthouse is derived from its association with county government, and the political power and prestige of Newton as the county seat.

References

{{NRHP in Jasper County, Iowa Government buildings completed in 1911 Newton, Iowa Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa County courthouses in Iowa Beaux-Arts architecture in Iowa Buildings and structures in Jasper County, Iowa Clock towers in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Jasper County, Iowa Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Iowa