Johnson County - American Courthouses

Johnson County is named for Richard Mentor Johnson, who was the ninth Vice President of the United States.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Linn County

E – Cedar County and Muscatine County

S – Louisa County and Washington County

W – Iowa County

Created: December 21, 1837

County Seat:

Napoleon 1838 – 1842

Iowa City 1842 – present

County Courthouse – Iowa City

Location: 417 Clinton Street / West Court Street

Built: 1899 – 1900

Style: Richardsonian Romanesque Revival

Architect: Rush, Bowman & Co. Ltd

Contractor: Rowson & Son

Description: The building faces east and is a two story buff colored sandstone and concrete structure. The building is located on a rise of landscaped grounds in the center of Iowa City. The east front has two rounded towers with conical roofs with the recessed entrance section in the center. The entrance has a large ornamented stone arch with impressive carvings. On the center of the roof is a large square stone tower with pitched roof. In the interior there is a large round stained glass skylight on the third story and a spiral staircase. The building has eight courtrooms. The County Magistrate Court courtroom is located at the southeast side of the first story. The second story has four County District Court courtrooms located at each corner. The third story has a large County District Court courtroom located on the southeast side. There are courtrooms located at the northwest and northwest sides. The building houses the County District Court of the 6th Judicial District. During construction, the superintendent was J J Holtz. The building was renovated from 2021 to 2024. The architect was Neuman Monson Architects of Iowa City and the contractor was Tricon Construction Group of Cedar Rapids.

See: The contractor, James Rowson and Son, also constructed courthouses in Dallas County and Jasper County.

See: The 6th Judicial District includes Benton County, Iowa County, Jones County, Linn County and Tama County.

History: The county was created in 1837 and Napoleon was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was built in Napoleon in 1838. The county seat was moved to Iowa City in 1842 and the second courthouse was built in 1842. The third courthouse was built in 1856. The cost of construction of the present courthouse was $111,000. The cost of renovations in 2022 to 2024 were $1,817,000.