| Keokuk County Courthouse | |
| Nrhp Type: | indcp |
| Nocat: | yes |
| Partof: | Public Square Historic District |
| Partof Refnum: | 99000487 |
| Location: | Main St. Sigourney, Iowa |
| Coordinates: | 41.3333°N -92.2044°W |
| Mapframe: | yes |
| Mapframe-Marker: | building |
| Mapframe-Zoom: | 12 |
| Mapframe-Caption: | Interactive map showing the location for Keokuk County Courthouse |
| Built: | 1909–1911 |
| Builder: | J.L Simmons |
| Architect: | Wetherell & Gage |
| Architecture: | Classical Revival |
| Added: | July 2, 1981 |
| Refnum: | 81000251 [1] |
The Keokuk County Courthouse located in Sigourney, Iowa, United States, was built in 1911. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 as a part of the County Courthouses in Iowa Thematic Resource.[2] In 1999 it was included as a contributing property in the Public Square Historic District.[3] The courthouse is the fourth building the county has used for court functions and county administration.
Keokuk County built its first courthouse in Sigourney in 1845 for $218.[4] The 24by building, which was constructed of logs, also housed the jail and served as a schoolhouse, public hall, and hotel.[5] Lancaster became the county seat in the late 1840s and a two-story frame courthouse was built there in 1848 for $699. By the mid-1850s the county seat was back in Sigourney. A new courthouse was built in 1858 for $17,200.[4] It was remodeled over the years until the present courthouse was begun in 1909. It was completed two years later at a cost of $150,000.[4]
The building was designed in the Classical Revival style by the Des Moines architectural firm Wetherell & Gage, and built by J.L Simmons. The Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago influenced the design of the building.[3] The Bedford limestone structure rests on a raised basement level. Each facade features a frontispiece with large engaged columns in the Ionic order that are set in antis above first floor level.[6] It is capped by a clock tower and cupola. Other historic structures on the courthouse square include a fountain, bandstand, and a Civil War Monument. The significance of the courthouse is derived from its association with county government, and the political power and prestige of Sigourney as the county seat.[6]