The Jackson County Courthouse, also known as Old Jackson County Courthouse or Bellevue Elementary School, is a historic building and former courthouse for

Jackson County, Iowa Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,485. The county seat is Maquoketa. History The county was formed on December 21, 1837, and named after US President Andrew Jackson. In ...

, United States. It is located in

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. It may refer to: Placenames Australia * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Glebe, an historic house in Sydney, New South Wales Canada ...

and was built in the

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

style in 1845. It currently serves as a portion of Bellevue Elementary School, the oldest functioning school in the state of Iowa.

History

When the

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belmont was ...

created Jackson,

Jones Jones may refer to: People *Jones (surname), a common Welsh and English surname *List of people with surname Jones * Jones (singer), a British singer-songwriter Arts and entertainment * Jones (''Animal Farm''), a human character in George Orwell ...

, and

Linn Linn may refer to: People * Linn (surname) * Linn (given name) * Linn da Quebrada, stage name of Brazilian singer, actress, screenwriter and television personality Lina Pereira dos Santos (born 1990) Places Germany * Linn (Gangkofen), a part ...

counties in 1837, Bellevue was named as the seat of justice for all three. Stock thief and counterfeiter W.W. Brown doctored a legitimate petition to have himself named as the organizing sheriff of Jackson County. The position went to Captain W.A. Warren instead. Completed in 1845, this building is one of the oldest structures in

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

used as a courthouse after Lee (1841) and Van Buren (1843) counties. with It is also one of seven extant courthouse buildings in the Greek Revival style in the state. This building was a victim 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 ...

rivalry that moved the Jackson County seat between Bellevue (1838–48),

Andrew Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...

(1848-51), Bellevue again (1851–61), Andrew once more (1861-73), finally ending up in Maquoketa in 1873. The courthouse was converted fully to use as a school in 1861, it is the pre-kindergarten through fifth grade Bellevue Elementary School in the Bellevue Community School District serving over 350 students. The original building has since been surrounded by additions. The south wing was added in 1870 and the north wing was added in 1872. A gymnasium and cafeteria were completed in the 1950s, and two 2-story classroom wings in the 1960s and 1970s. Previously, the courthouse was in a park-like,

town square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true square, geometric square, used for community gathe ...

setting, but has since been paved with asphalt with trees removed. The building was added to 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 ...

on July 2, 1981.

Architecture

The Old Jackson County Courthouse is a two-story, brick,

structure. It takes the form of a traditional Greek temple without 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 ...

. Unadorned, 2-story wings flank the main

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

to the north and south. The building is capped with a

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 one

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

. On the roof above the arched main entrance once stood a large

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, from ...

featuring a

cloister vault In architecture, a cloister vault (also called a pavilion vault) is a vault with four concave surfaces (patches of cylinders) meeting at a point above the center of the vault. It can be thought of as formed by two barrel vaults that cross at ...

shaped roof and large bell. The cupola was removed sometime during the mid 20th century due to deterioration and leaks in the roof. Other decorative elements of the building include a classical

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 ...

with a

returned 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 ...

and half-moon window as well as simple brick projecting

pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

s on all three sides of the main façade. Native limestone gathered from local quarries make up the exposed rough cut foundation,

window sill A windowsill (also written window sill or window-sill, and less frequently in British English, cill) is the horizontal structure or surface at the bottom of a window. Window sills serve to structurally support and hold the window in place. The ...

lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of w ...

s, and front steps. Although the interior was altered drastically numerous times throughout the past 175 years to accommodate changing education practices and modern amenities, it still retains

tin ceiling A tin ceiling is an architectural element, consisting of a ceiling finished with plates of tin with designs pressed into them, that was very popular in Victorian buildings in North America in the late 19th and early 20th century. They were also ...

s (mostly covered by

dropped ceiling A dropped ceiling is a secondary ceiling, hung below the main (structural) ceiling. It may also be referred to as a drop ceiling, T-bar ceiling, false ceiling, suspended ceiling, grid ceiling, drop in ceiling, drop out ceiling, or ceiling til ...

s), much of its original

woodwork Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making (cabinetry and furniture), wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning. History Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials ...

(although heavily painted and damaged), and its grand stairway with large wooden

newel post A newel, also called a central pole or support column, is the central supporting pillar of a staircase. It can also refer to an upright post that supports and/or terminates the handrail of a stair banister (the "newel post"). In stairs having str ...

s. Other antique features include original schoolhouse style glass light fixtures from the early 1900s, cast iron radiators, and some original window panes.

Future

Discussion began in 2017 to determine the future of the building. The community rejected a $16 million bond referendum that would have funded construction of a new elementary school in a field west of town on September 11, 2018, with 44% of voters approving the measure (short of the 60% supermajority required for approval). The district reduced the proposed building's square footage from 69,000 sq. ft. to 56,000 sq. ft. and voted on a $14.5 million referendum on April 2, 2019. The referendum was again rejected by the community with only 46% voter approval.

References

{{NRHP in Jackson County, Iowa Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Former courthouses in Iowa Buildings and structures in Jackson County, Iowa Greek Revival architecture in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Jackson County, Iowa 1845 establishments in Iowa Territory Bellevue, Iowa

History

Architecture

Future

See also

References