The Shelby County Courthouse in

Harlan, Iowa Harlan is a city in Shelby County, Iowa, along the West Nishnabotna River. The population was 4,893 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Shelby County. History Harlan was platted in 1858. It was named for one of Iowa's early ...

, United States, was built in 1892. 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 1978 as a part of the County Courthouses in Iowa Thematic Resource. In 1994 it was included as a contributing property in the Harlan Courthouse Square Commercial District. The courthouse is the third 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 ...

for Shelby County was located in a place called Shelbyville. There is no mention of a courthouse there, but it is assumed that a building of some sort was used for county business for the three years it was the county seat. After it was moved to Harlan, a two-story frame building was erected in 1860 for the courthouse. A second courthouse was built for $4,250 in 1875. It was a two-story frame structure as well. In 1882 the use of the courtroom was limited to court functions, school elections, and religious services for denominations that did not have their own building. An architect requested that the vaults be condemned in 1890 as they did not protect the county records from fire. They were removed to a different building. Construction on the present courthouse was begun in 1892 and it was built for $62,733.90. Charles E. Bell of

Council Bluffs Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area. It is loc ...

designed the Richardsonian Romanesque style building. W.H. Cockerell of Harlan was the contractor. The

cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over tim ...

was laid on August 4, 1892, and the building was dedicated on November 13, 1893. The courthouse tower of galvanized iron and wood was too heavy for the structure and it had to be removed for $563 nine years after it was built. A $300,000 renovation of the building, which included installation of its first elevator, was completed in 1978. A Soldier's monument was erected on the courthouse square in 1916. It is a

contributing object 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 distric ...

in the historic district and the square itself is a

contributing site 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 distric ...

. There is also a POW/MIA Monument that was erected in 1992.

Architecture

The courthouse is constructed of Berea sandstone and features a slate roof. The dimensions of the building are and it is two stories above a raised basement. The south elevation has a projecting archway with large

voussoir A voussoir () is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault. Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The ...

s above a recessed entrance. The east and west elevations each have a central pavilion that projects from the main building and terminates in a

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 ...

end. The four corners also feature projecting pavilions with gable ends on each elevation. White colored stone trim runs below the central roofline with a small dormer on the main facade. Originally, a bell tower at a height of topped the building.

References

{{Authority control Government buildings completed in 1893 Harlan, Iowa Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in Iowa Buildings and structures in Shelby County, Iowa Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa County courthouses in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Shelby County, Iowa Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Iowa