Madison County Courthouse

The Madison County Courthouse is the county’s third. Madison County's first courthouse was a double log structure built in 1849 in what is now Monumental Park in Winterset. Started in 1868, the first limestone courthouse was placed in the center of Winterset’s downtown public square. It was a Greek cross-shaped structure composed of locally quarried limestone with a wooden infrastructure. It looked much like the current courthouse with four wings, and capped with an octagonal dome. The uninsured building was destroyed by fire (cause unknown) on October 2, 1875. In less than four hours, the building was gutted but Madison County records were safely removed.

The present courthouse was begun in 1876. It was designed by French architect Alfred H. Piquenard, who, along with John C. Cochrane, was also responsible for designing the Illinois and Iowa State Capitols. The building was completed for about $120,000. The structure is very similar to the second courthouse, but its decorative details are more refined. Learning from their earlier structure, the inside was completely constructed of brick to be fireproof. The courthouse has been  listed twice on the National Register of Historic Places. The first was in 1981 as a part of the County Courthouses in Iowa, and again in 2015, as part of the Courthouse Historic District.

The courthouse is still an active county building. Visitors are welcome on weekdays year-round to tour the courthouse's main floor and military memorials along the walls. 

Category: Historical

Location

112 S. John Wayne Drive
Winterset, IA 50273