Keokuk County Courthouse
The Keokuk County Courthouse located in Sigourney, Iowa, United States, was built in 1911. It was individually listed on the National Register of [Historic Places] in 1981 as a part of the County Courthouses in Iowa Thematic Resource. In 1999 it was included as a contributing property in the Public Square [Historic District (Sigourney, Iowa)|Public Square Historic District]. The courthouse is the fourth building the county has used for court functions and county administration.
History
built its first courthouse in Sigourney in 1845 for $218. The building, which was constructed of logs, also housed the jail and served as a schoolhouse, public hall, and hotel. Lancaster became the county seat in the late 1840s and a two-story frame courthouse was built there in 1848 for $699. By the mid-1850s the county seat was back in Sigourney. A new courthouse was built in 1858 for $17,200. It was remodeled over the years until the present courthouse was begun in 1909. It was completed two years later at a cost of $150,000.
Architecture
The building was designed in the Classical Revival style by the Des Moines architectural firm Wetherell & Gage, and built by J.L Simmons. The Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago influenced the design of the building. The Bedford limestone structure rests on a raised basement level. Each facade features a frontispiece with large engaged columns in the Ionic order that are set in antis above first floor level. It is capped by a clock tower and cupola. Other historic structures on the courthouse square include a fountain, bandstand, and a Civil War Monument. The significance of the courthouse is derived from its association with county government, and the political power and prestige of Sigourney as the county seat.