Monroe County Court House

Monroe County Court House. . , January 6, 1816 , An Act of the legislature of the Illinois Territory was enacted to form a new county out of Randolph and St. Clair Counties to be called Monroe County named after then U.S. Secretary of State James Monroe who would be elected U.S. President in 1820, Monroe County became the tenth county part of the Illinois Territory. The County population at that time was 1.500. Many residents of the former copies were not happy when they instantly became inhabitants of the newly-formed Monroe County., The first County Seat was established at Harrisonville in western Monroe County on the banks of the Mississippi River On June 1, 1816 Caldwell Carnes James Lemen and Abraham Amos met at the home of James McRoberts in Harrisonville, and presented the commission they had received from the Governor to serve as the first Monroe County Board members. They were called Gentlemen Judges because in addition to conducting the business of the Court it was their responsibility to rule on Court cases. , In 1818, bids were solicited for the construction of a jail in the Monroe County seas. This would be the way County building constructed in Harrisonville. No court house was ever built there. All County meetings were conducted in taverns and hotels in Harrisonville., Because of continued flooding, it was decided to move the County Seat to Waterloo. The last meeting was held at Harrisonville on April 18, 1825. The meeting was recessed and continued the next day April 19 at Ditch's Tavern in Waterloo., In December, 1825, plans were drafted for the first Monroe County Courthouse. The original plan was to construct this building near New Design on property owned by James Lemen, but that plan would later be changed. In 1831, bids were solicited for the construction of the Courthouse on the Public Square in Waterloo in the same location as the current Bandstand. That Courthouse was completed in 1982. In 1839 plans were made to construct the first Jail in Waterloo , Construction began on a new Courthouse in 1851, and it was completed several years later. This is the center structure of the west side of the current building., In 1907, the County Board made the decision to add onto the Courthouse. Wings were added to the center building structure, and these were completed in 1910. There was also a desire to add a dome to the center portion of the building, but this idea was eventually rejected., In 1982, because of continued growth throughout the county, and need for more County office planning began for a major Courthouse addition. Several options were studied including: (1) abandon the existing building and rebuild a new County building campus away from the downtown area, (2) renovate the existing building for some County offices, and (3) renovate the existing building, and build an addition similar in design and structure to complement the former building. The third option was eventually chosen, building began in 1994, and the building was completed and occupied in 1995. , Three men with roots in Monroe County would go o become Illinois Governor: Bond First Governor of Illinois in 1818 . Bissell Became Governor in 1856 . Ford Became Governor in 1842