Adair County, Missouri Courthouses / Early Days of Adair County, Missouri

Adair County, Missouri Courthouses, also, Early Days of Adair County, Missouri. . The first courthouse of Adair County, completed on July 15, 1843, was constructed on the northwest corner at the intersection of Harrison and Elson Streets. Described as "a low brick affair," the building was said to cost $1,000, a large amount of money in those days. By 1852, Adair County was ready and willing to build a new and improved courthouse. The second courthouse was built on the "Square" in Kirksville, based on the "Shelbyville" type square. Kirksville's square features the courthouse located in the middle of two sets of parallel streets that circumvent around the perimeter. The building was so organized that the first floor contained offices, and the second floor contained the court room. A cupola garnished the peak of the roof. Reportedly costing $2,350 the new courthouse played an integral part in the Battle of Kirksville on August 6, 1862. On April 12, 1865 after the second courthouse burned, the courthouse square became known as "The Park." From 1865 to 1898, Adair County did not have a courthouse; hence, officials conducted their work in rented rooms on or near the square. Bond issues of 1872, 1891, 1892 and 1896 failed to build a new courthouse. Finally, in 1897, a county bond issue for $50,000 passed to build a new courthouse. Kirsch and Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin designed the three story structure. Robert G. Kirsch personally supervised the building of the structure made of light blue (Ohio) sandstone. It was influenced by the (H.H.) Richardson Romanesque style of architecture "with its broad arches, squat column clusters, roughfaced stone masonry, massed hip roofs and an ornate clock tower that could be seen for miles topped by a Statue of Justice eight feet tall." For several years, the clock faces had no protection and pigeons landed on the hands, riding them down. Obtaining correct time was a county-wide joke; later the faces were enclosed, and the clock was quite dependable, though the weight caused it to be removed in 1949. On November 6, 1897, the contract was let to Anderson and Menke for $46,675. The actual cost came close to $60,000. The cornerstone was laid May 2, 1898. On February 24, 1899, the county court received the building from the contractors. Five weeks later, March 31, 1899, the county offices moved into their new home. For seventy years hitching posts were on all sides of the square as well as a watering fountain for animals. Also, two wells on the courthouse lawn, on the southeast and northwest, provided storekeepers and nearby residents with water. The Adair County Courthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.