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Sioux County Courthouse (Iowa)

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Sioux County Courthouse
Sioux County Courthouse (Iowa) is located in Iowa
Sioux County Courthouse (Iowa)
LocationOff Iowa Highway 10, Orange City, Iowa
Built1902-1904
ArchitectBeach, Wilfred W.
Architectural styleRomanesque Revival, Richardsonian Romanesque
MPSCounty Courthouses in Iowa TR (AD)
NRHP reference No.77000559[1]
Added to NRHPApril 11, 1977

The Sioux County Courthouse is a Richardsonian Romanesque courthouse in Orange City, Iowa, the county seat of Sioux County, Iowa. Designed by Wilfred Warren (W.W.) Beach, it was built from 1902 to 1904.

History

Sioux County was organized on January 20, 1860, on land occupied by the indigenous Sioux until they were forced to abandon it under the terms of the fourth Treaty of Prairie du Chien in 1830.[2][3] The original courthouse was a log structure in Calliope, Iowa, on the Big Sioux River. That building was sold off when the county seat was moved to Orange City after a referendum in 1872, and Sioux County had no central county offices until this courthouse was built.

With the approval of a bond issue, Sioux County selected W.W. Beach (1872-1937) as its architect. Beach had been born in Sioux County, in Alton, three miles east of Orange City, in the same year that the county seat was moved to Orange City. Beach had established his architectural practice in Sioux City, Iowa only in 1899, with his first major commision being the Main Hall (later Lewis Hall) for Morningside College in that city. By the time the Sioux County Courthouse was completed, Beach would have hired promising young William L. Steele (1875-1949) as his draftsman, and the two would later form a brief partnership.[3][4]

Construction on the courthouse began in June 1902, but the construction company went bankrupt, delaying completion until October 1904. Just five years later, lightning destroyed the top of the tower in 1907, and it was replaced with a hip roof and a 10-foot tall cast bronze statue personifying Justice (Vrouwe Justitia).[3]

The building was extensively renovated in 1976-1982, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.[1][3]

Architecture

Beach's design is classic, muscular Richardsonian Romanesque, an architectural style developed by Henry Hobson Richardson. Although of high quality, its timing is unusual, since that style was associated with the late 1880s rather than the early 20th Century. A deep rusticated arch forms the principal entrance at the base of the central tower, which is six stories tall. Doors and windows appear to be cut deeply into the dark red sandstone, and the effect is heightened by the light buff sandstone trim.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ Schwieder, Dorothy (1996). Iowa: The Middle Land. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press. pp. 7–20. ISBN 978-0-8138-2306-5.
  3. ^ a b c d "History of Sioux County". Orange City, Iowa: Sioux County, Iowa. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
  4. ^ Shank, Wesley I (1999). Iowa's Historic Architects. Iowa City, Iowa: University of Iowa Press. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-0-87745-651-3.
  5. ^ Gebhard, David; Mansheim, Gerald (1993). Buildings of Iowa. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 490. ISBN 978-0-19-506148-2.
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