The Newton Downtown Historic District is a nationally recognized

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

located in

Newton, Iowa Newton is the county seat of, and most populous city in, Jasper County, Iowa, United States. Located east of Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines, Newton is in Central Iowa. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the city population was 15,760 ...

, United States. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2014. At the time of its nomination it contained 85 resources, which included 60

contributing buildings 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 dist ...

, one

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 distr ...

, and 24 non-contributing buildings. Jasper County was established by the Iowa Territorial Legislature in 1846, and Newton was incorporated the following year as the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

. The town grew slowly at first around the Jasper County Courthouse. Businesses largely served the needs of the local farmers as well as the town's residents. The

Mississippi and Missouri Railroad The Mississippi and Missouri Railroad (M&M Railroad) was the first railroad in Iowa. It was chartered in 1853 to build a line between Davenport, Iowa, on the Mississippi River and Council Bluffs, Iowa, on the Missouri River.Dix, John Adams. Speech ...

, later the

Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad The original Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At ...

, came to Newton in 1867. This changed the town's economy from agricultural-based to manufacturing, and the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

expanded outward as the community grew. Several washing machine companies established themselves in Newton, most notably

Maytag The Maytag Corporation is an American Home appliance, home and commercial appliance company. The company has been owned by Whirlpool Corporation since April 2006. History The Maytag Washing Machine Company was founded in 1893 by businessm ...

. The emergence of Maytag as a major corporation in the mid-20th century led to the transformation of the downtown area. Between 1951 and 1952, 18 businesses installed new

storefront A storefront or shopfront is the facade or entryway of a retail store located on the ground floor or street level of a commercial building, typically including one or more display windows. A storefront functions to attract visual attention to a b ...

s, transforming them from their original

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

appearance to a more modern appearance. The modernization continued into the 1960s. Various architects, mostly from

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, designed most of the important buildings in the district. The exception was Henry Raeder, a

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

architect who designed the Hotel Maytag (1926). Most of the buildings in the district, however, were designed by local builder-contractors. All of the buildings are of

masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...

construction. A majority of the structures housed retail concerns on the main floor with apartments or offices on the upper floors. Other buildings housed banks, restaurants, service stations, the local newspaper, a hotel, and fraternal organizations. Three churches, the Salvation Army, First United Methodist, and First Presbyterian, are located in the district. Government buildings located here include the former city hall, former post office, and county public services. The present

county courthouse A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...

(1911) is individually listed on the National Register. The courthouse square is the contributing site.

References

{{NRHP in Jasper County, Iowa Newton, Iowa Historic districts in Jasper County, Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Jasper County, Iowa Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa