Montgomery County Courthouse (Iowa)

Montgomery County Courthouse
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Coolbaugh and 2nd Sts. Red Oak, Iowa
Coordinates	41°0′34″N 95°13′50″W / 41.00944°N 95.23056°WCoordinates: 41°0′34″N 95°13′50″W / 41.00944°N 95.23056°W
Built	1891
Architect	Richard & Co.
Architectural style	Romanesque Revival
MPS	County Courthouses in Iowa TR
NRHP Reference #	81000259 [1]
Added to NRHP	July 2, 1981

The Montgomery County Courthouse in Red Oak, Iowa, United States was built in 1891. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 as a part of the County Courthouses in Iowa Thematic Resource.^[1] The courthouse is the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration.

History

Montgomery County’s first county seat was Frankfort and the courthouse there was a room in a log cabin.^[2] A dining room set was used for the furniture and the jury deliberated outside.^[2] It was replaced by a two-story building that was built for $1,000.^[2] When the county seat was moved to Red Oak the building was put on a sled and thirty yoke of oxen pulled through a blizzard to its new site on the town square.^[2] The cornerstone for the present courthouse was laid on July 4, 1890 and construction was completed a year later. The Romanesque Revival style building was built at a cost of $100,000.^[3]

References

1. National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
2. "Montgomery County Courthouse". Iowa Judicial Branch. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
3. Stanek, Edward and Jacqueline (1976). Iowa's Magnificent County Courthouses. Des Moines: Wallace-Homestead. p. 142. ISBN 0-87069-189-9.