|
Courthouse at DeSoto
1858 - fall of 1866 |
|
|
|
Courthouse in Blair
1869 - 1891 |
Washington County
was among the earliest formed in Nebraska, having been established in 1854.
Desoto and Fort Calhoun were the first county seats but in 1869 it was
assigned to Blair. A 40x40-foot square brick building that had been designed
as a school was first used. Twenty years later, amidst controversy over the
need for a new courthouse the vote was 126 to 874 in favor of floating a
$35,000 bond issue for the new construction.
Work began in 1889 under the direction of
architect O.H. Placey and a Romanesque Revival-style design was selected.
The builder was Richards and Company. They constructed the footings and
foundations of limestone and the walls were laid up of St. Louis pressed
brick with trim of Warrensburg Stone. There was considerable controversy
during the construction. Some of the work was rejected and replaced and the
architect resigned. Finally in 1891 the work was completed.
Numerous face lifts and improvements
were made to the building beginning in 1936 with a $10,000 renovation by the
WPA. The Treasurer's office, the court room and the 3rd floor all have been
remodeled.
In 1995 a new addition and a complete
renovation of the old building was dedicated. |
|
The location of the old
county court house in Blair was in the Northwest corner lot of bock 63
-- on the corner of Grant and Third Streets (present day Grant &
19th Streets). |
|
Note
of Interest
Other Courthouses built by O.H. Placey include:
York County Courthouse,
in York, Nebraska
(Built 1886-1888 - demolished in
1978)
Adams County Courthouse, in Quincy, Illinois
(Built 1876 - destroyed by a tornado 1945) [Source]
|
Romanesque Revival
Architecture
IDENTIFYING FEATURES:
Round arches over windows and/or entryways; thick, cavernous entryways
and window openings; thick masonry walls, rounded towers with conical
roof; facades are asymmetrical; variable stone and brick façade. On
elaborate examples, polychromatic facades with contrasting building
materials. |
|
|
|
Photos |
| Click image
to enlarge. |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
