Jackson County (Mo.) Historical Society

Portals to the Past by David W. Jackson

 

Wind the Clock Back on Jackson County

 

            With the historic Independence Square ‘s boutique shops enjoying revitalization today, and the old County Courthouse terraces soon to be restored to their 1933-era beauty, we thought it might be high time to  wind the clock on the history of Jackson County’s illustrious Independence and Kansas City courthouses. This is the first of a two part series.

More than one third of Missouri’s 114 counties boast courthouses over 100 years old, representing the most architecturally significant building in their county at the time of construction. These seats of government, called county seats boasted imposing, often elaborate structural ornamentation, domes, and clock towers alluding to the prosperity and pride of its citizenry.

            Jackson County has the rare distinction of claiming not one, but two surviving 19th century courthouses. Brad Pace, past-president of the Jackson County Historical Society, and author of, Survivors: A Catalog of Missouri’s Remaining 19th Century County Courthouses, said, There can be no doubt that they are today among the county’s most tangible links with its past. 

            The first meeting of a Jackson County Court (analogous to today’s County Legislature) occurred in a private home on May 21, 1827, in Independence. Soon thereafter bids were requested for construction of a temporary log courthouse. The Court appropriated $175, but accepted the low bid of $150 from Daniel Lewis. Construction of the two-room log house featuring two rock chimneys and a puncheon floor--logs with one side hewn smooth--appears to have been completed by 1828. It is said that at the time of its construction it was the last county courthouse between Independence and the Pacific Ocean. Although serving only briefly as a courthouse, this temporary structure has had many uses through the years, including that of a private home. In the 1920’s and 30’s it housed the headquarters of the Community Welfare League, with Bess Truman serving as honorary vice-chair. It was donated to the City of Independence in 1916 by Christian Ott, Jr., Mayor. The building originally stood at the southeast corner of Lexington and Lynn, but was moved in 1916 to its current location at 107 W. Kansas, in Independence, and is available for tours.

            Though most recently remodeled nearly 75 years ago under the planning and supervision of Harry S Truman, then Presiding Judge (akin to today’s County Executive) of the Jackson County Court, the landmark Jackson County Courthouse on Independence Square, listed in 1972 on the National Register of Historic Places, contains remnants from five earlier courthouses dating to 1836.

            Immediately after the 1827 log courthouse was erected, construction of a more permanent brick and stone courthouse began that year. Though completed in 1831, the building was improperly constructed and suffered maintenance problems from the start, according to available records. The structure foundered and the County Court ordered construction of a completely new building in 1836.

            Entombed behind the marble walls of the current structure’s central lobby and the paneling of the second floor courtroom stands the two-foot-thick walls of this 1836 two-story, two-room brick building. A corner closet in the former marriage license bureau was once one of four original, tall fireplace flues at each corner of that building. In the basement, you can still see a brick-lined tunnel from this first structure.

            A tall, thin, sharp-pointed spire added in 1846 (the year the ill-fated, 250-wagon Donner party left Independence Square for California) was visible for miles in every direction on the pioneer landscape for the next six years. Of course, it didn’t hurt that Independence Square situates on very high ground.

            Though commonly recorded that Mexican War veterans returning to Jackson County in 1848 found the courthouse enlarged in all four directions and newly resurfaced into a modified Greek Revival style popular at that time, County Court records document this enlargement taking place between June 1852 and May 1853. The balanced, symmetrical façade included columned entry porches on the north and south, and evenly spaced, simple pilasters projecting slightly from all four walls. The wooden fence previously enclosing the quarter acre, was removed. A stunted, domed cupola atop a low-pitched hip roof replaced the prominent 1846 spire. 49’ers rushed by this courthouse post haste for gold in California. Its walls quartered soldiers and endured bullets fired in Civil War battles that raged through Independence Square.

            A burgeoning post-war reconstruction boom necessitated larger quarters for Jackson County government. In 1872, the first Jackson County Courthouse was constructed in Kansas City at 2nd and Main; it’s charge was (and still is) to handle the affairs of citizens conducting county business in Range 33 along the Missouri-Kansas border. Also in 1872, $48,000 resurfaced the Independence courthouse with red brick into a Second Empire style. An extended square east wing featured a concave mansard-topped clock tower with pointed belfry; a balustrade and Grecian urns surrounded the adorned cornices of the roofline. Two-story, ornate balconies and classical pediments were built on the north and south entrances. And, an iron fence surrounded the landscaped perimeter.

            Fifteen years later in 1887, ornamentation was removed to streamline building maintenance issues. The clock tower wing was enlarged for office spaces; the 6-foot tall clock face was painted black with gold leaf Roman numerals. A porch was added to the east entrance. And, a $35,000 annex was built adjacent on the west, connected by an iron bridge from the second floor. In Kansas City that same year, construction began on a new County Courthouse that took up the city block between 5th and Missouri, Oak and Locust Streets; patterned after the state house at Denver, it was opened in 1892.

            In 1897, the Independence Courthouse had a new timepiece was installed, plus a bell salvaged from a Missouri riverboat.

            In 1907, $100,000 in general revenue funds helped to raise and restyle the Second Empire tower. The 1872 clock face was retained, but the movement was replaced with one recycled from the city of Independence after a 1,500 lb. weight snapped from its cable and destroyed two joists before breaking it’s freefall. North and south balconies were enclosed, thus expanding the upstairs courtroom. The entire building was resurfaced, this time with buff-colored brick, and the surrounding 1872 iron fence was removed. Wind the clock with us next time to discover Harry Truman’s Depression-era initiative to establish a monograph County building reminiscent of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall.

            Meanwhile, the newly formed Friends of the Courthouse are dedicated to restoring the historic structure and courtyard on Independence Square. Visit the Friends’ booth over SantaCaliGon weekend to learn more about the current and future of Mr. Truman’s Courthouse. New members of the Friends may enjoy guided, behind-the-scenes Courthouse tours.