Washington County Courthouse 1891

Washington County Courthouse 1891. . , The first county courthouse was located in Fort Calhoun when it was the county seat in the 1850s. When Blair experienced growth from the railroad in the 1870s, residents successfully lobbied to have Blair declared the new county seat. A small schoolhouse was repurposed in Blair and used as the courthouse. By 1889, the growing City of Blair purchased Block 75 (also known as Jail Block) at this site and commenced with building a new and majestic courthouse. , Richards and Company of Omaha secured the contracting work at a cost of $35,842. A bond was passed, and construction of the Romanesque Revival courthouse began. Construction lasted two years, and on March 24, 1891, the building was presented to the City of Blair. , It was designed with smaller rooms on the first floor, providing added structure from walls made with heavy timber layered with bricks. It was heated with 16 fireplaces until steam heaters were installed in 1947. Many of the fireplaces are still visible today. , A 100-year anniversary box was placed in the cornerstone and opened in 1989. A large wing was added to the southwest corner and dedicated in 1995. There is a time capsule in the wall that will be opened in 2045. , This magnificent building incurred millions of dollars in damage during the 2014 hailstorm. After months of painstaking restoration, the building continues to stand as a beacon of government in Washington County. In 2010 it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. , Civil War Monument , This Italian marble statue was made in Holland. It was originally destined for an individual in Omaha, but upon arrival, the bayonet was damaged, and the owner did not claim it. It remained at the freight office and eventually the Grand Army of the Republic purchased the statue for $60, which was the cost of freight. , In 1898, the monument was placed in the middle of the intersection of Colfax and Walker Avenue to honor the Union soldiers who were buried in Washington County. Years later, as the number of cars increased, it became a safety hazard. Residents presented the City with signed petitions requesting it be moved. The new location was narrowed down to three places: Old Soldier lot at the cemetery, Courthouse lawn, or the swimming pool park. It was decided that the courthouse lawn would be the ideal location for the monument, and in 1938 the statue was moved as a WPA project. , [photo captions] , . Baseball team sponsored by Blair Clothing Company on the courthouse steps , . County Officials at the Courthouse, circa 1890s. L to R standing: R. Goss, TB Pawling, John Akin, Magnus Johnson, Clark O’Hanlon, Henry Rohwer. Seated: R. Broderson, William Gray, Wat Gouldry. , . First statue location at Walker Avenue and Colfax Street looking east. Notice the line of trees in the middle of the road. These were eventually removed along with the statue. , . World War 1 inductees in front of the courthouse