Butler County Courthouse (Iowa)

Butler County Courthouse
Butler County Courthouse
Location within Iowa
General information
Architectural style	Modern
Location	428 Sixth Street Allison, Iowa
Coordinates	Coordinates: 42°45′21.861″N 92°47′42.566″W / 42.75607250°N 92.79515722°W
Completed	1975
Governing body	Local
Design and construction
Architect	Cervetti-Weber & Associates, Inc.

The Butler County Courthouse is located at 428 Sixth Street in Allison, Iowa. It opened in 1975 and replaced a structure originally measuring 50 by 55 feet (15 m × 17 m) completed in 1881 when the county seat relocated from Clarksville to Allison.^[1] The 1881 courthouse was enlarged in 1903 and again in 1937.^[2]

Beginning in the 1950s, county officials realized the need for a new building and requested funding through ballot proposals in 1956, 1957 and 1970. Voters rejected these proposals forcing officials to cancel court hearings and other due to insufficient heat and overloaded electrical wiring and rent space in other buildings.

Their fourth request for funding in 1973 was successful and officials received 13 bids to construct a new courthouse. They selected the Marshalltown, Iowa firm of Cervetti-Weber & Associates, Inc. at a cost of $48,878.84. The new courthouse would be constructed on the grassy immediately south of the 1881 building. Groundbreaking was April 14, 1974, and officials dedicated the new facility December 14, 1975.^[2] The building was completed for about $940,000.^[3]

The new building is faced with brown brick and houses all county offices except for the sheriff who maintains offices in the adjacent jail. The former courthouse was demolished in April 1976.

References

1. "Butler County Courthouse". Iowa Judicial Branch. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
2. "About Us: Butler County's History". Butler County. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
3. Stanek, Edward and Jacqueline (1976). Iowa's Magnificent County Courthouses. Des Moines: Wallace-Homestead. p. 30. ISBN 0-87069-189-9.

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