Built 1893 Architectural style Romanesque Revival | Architect H. C. Koch NRHP Reference # 81000250 | |
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Location Court St. between Briggs and Hempstead Aves.
Fairfield, Iowa MPS County Courthouses in Iowa TR | ||
The Jefferson County Courthouse in Fairfield, Iowa, United States was built from 1890 to 1893. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 as a part of the County Courthouses in Iowa Thematic Resource. The courthouse is the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration.
History
Jefferson County’s first courthouse was built in 1840. It was a two-story frame structure with a gabled roof. The building was destroyed in a fire in 1916. It was replaced by a 40-by-70-foot (12 by 21 m) structure that was built of brick in 1851. Because the building was in poor condition court sessions were held in Harmony Church starting in 1880. A poor economy delayed the construction of a new courthouse until construction was begun on the present building in 1890. The Romanesque Revival building was completed three years later at a cost of $73,630.87. The exterior is constructed in Cleveland grey sandstone and brick. The interior features wood work in native oak. The clock tower was modified in 1948.