Courthouse

Palo Alto   County (567 square miles) was named for the first important 
battlefield victory of theMexican War, fought on  May 8, 1846, before 
the war was officially declared.The county’s first settlement was made 
in May 1855 on the east bank of the Des Moines River, at West Bend, followed 
by the Irish colony near Emmetsburg in July 1856. Soon other pioneers 
were locating in various parts of the county. But, on March 8, 1857,
Inkpadutah and his murderous band of Indians perpetrated the infamous 
Spirit Lake Massacre. Some 40 men, women, and children in the lakes 
region were brutally murdered during the days that followed. The event 
tended to temporarily discourage settlement in the area.


As soon as the county was officially organized, commissioners met to 
locate the county seat, “as near the geographic center as may be, having 
due regard for the present as well as the future populations of said county.”
At the time, the population of the county probably did not exceed 50 persons.

The first courthouse was then erected in 1858-1859, at the village of Paoli, 
located on the east bank of the Des Moines River, two miles south of the 
present town of Emmetsburg. Swamp lands of the county weretraded to a 
speculator to build the courthouse and a school. A steam sawmill was brought 
to the construction site and used to saw lumber for the new public buildings. 
Plans called for a two-story, brick courthouse, 36’ x 50, but, due to faulty
construction, the building collapsed even before it could be fully completed.
The discouraged county officials then decided to rebuild the courthouse,
but only half as large as originally planned. Considerable litigations resulted 
over the affair, but a compromise was finally reached.


County business was carried on for a time in this building, but there were no 
settlers and the town did not develop. County officials, jurors, and witnesses had 
to depend on nearby settlers for meals andlodging. With the passing years, the 
courthouse showed signs of decay and finally fell in. Some years later, many of the 
bricks were hauled away by prairie settlers for their own buildings. Thus, the
speculative county seat town of  Paoli disappeared. Most of the affairs of the 
county were next taken care of at a place called Soda Bar, situated in Nevada 
Township,  although Paoli remained the official county seat.


It was only after the “Old Town” of Emmetsburg (named for the Irish patriot,
Robert Emmet) was moved up from its old location on the Des Moines River in 
1874 to the present site that it became the new seat of county government by
 a vote of the citizens in 1875. An ornate brick courthouse was erected there in
 1880, on the courthouse square which was donated to the county. The building was 
 originally faced with yellow brick, but this was replaced with dark red brick 
 during World War I. A tall tower was removed in the early 1920’s, after having 
 been repeatedly struck by lightning. The jail, originally in the courthouse basement,
 was later removed to a separate building, and the interior of the courthouse was 
 extensively remodeled in 1970. In June 1976, voters approved the construction of a 
 23’ x 60’, two-story and basement addition on the east side of the building, 
 financed by federal revenue sharing funds.


Although the original courthouse was of late Victorian Gothic design, there have been
many changes to the building’s exterior through the years, giving it more modern look.


Infront of the courthouse stands a statue of Robert Emmet, which was financed by a
$3,000 donation from local members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians shortly
after World War I. Because of the disagreement over where to locate the monument, it
 was kept in the cellar of a store from some 20 years. In 1938, the store owner
 sold the statue for $75. It was recovered by Emmetsburg residents from the yard 
 of a  Minnesota man in 1958, and was later placed on the courthouse grounds.
A large rock, labeled “Blarney Stone,” is located near the statue.

Excerpt taken from the pages of:
The Counties and Courthouse of Iowa
by LeRoy G. Pratt
Copyright 1977
First Edition

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