Lee County is named for Robert E Lee, who was a Confederate general in the Civil War, or for Lee, a family prominent in the New York Land Company who owned an interest in Half-Breed Tract in 1830.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Henry County and Des Moines County
E – Henderson County, Illinois and Hancock County, Illinois
S – Clark County, Missouri
W – Clark County, Missouri and Van Buren County
Created: December 6, 1837
County Seat:
Fort Madison 1840 – 1843
West Point 1843 – 1845
Fort Madison 1845 – present (north)
Keokuk 1847 – present ( south )
County Courthouse – Fort Madison
Location: 701 Avenue F / 7th Street
Built: 1841 – 1842
Style: Greek Revival
Architect: Father Samuel Mazzuchelli
Contractor: Morrison, Ladd & Atlee
Description: The building faces south and is a two story red colored brick, wood and stone structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Fort Madison. The foundation is stone. On the south front are four large white colored Doric columns supporting the extended roof with pediment. The addition to the courthouse consists of two parts with an addition attached to the north wall which is two stories high and the addition attached to the west side of the first addition which is one story and having a flat roof line. In the interior, the first story is bisected by a wide central hall. The ceiling is pressed metal. At the north end of the hall stairs ascend to the second story which has a central corridor with the County District Court courtroom located at the south end. The County Magistrate Court is located on the north side of the first story. The building houses the County District Court of 8B Judicial District and the County Magistrate Court. On the west side is the Old County Jail.
See: The 8B Judicial District includes Des Moines County, Henry County, Lee County and Louisa County.
History: The county was create in 1837 and Fort Madison was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was built in 1841. The cost of construction of the 1842 courthouse in Fort Madison was $12,000. The county seat was moved to West Point in 1843 and the courthouse was rented until the county seat was returned to Fort Madison in 1845. In 1876, the courthouse was completely overhauled and reconstructed. In 1911, fire damaged the courthouse, but insurance money was used to rebuild it that same year. The additions were built pre World War I.
Note: The lowest point in Iowa is the Mississippi at 480 feet (146 meters) which is located in the county.
County Courthouse – Fort Madison
County District Court courtroom
County Magistrate Court courtroom
Old County Jail – Fort Madison
County Courthouse – Keokuk
Location: 25 7th Street / Blondeau Street
Built: 1887 – 1888
Style: Victorian
Architect: Mifflin Emien Bell and Will A Fret
Contractor: T R J Ayres & Sons of Keokuk
Description: The building faces northwest and is a three story red colored brick, stone and concrete structure. The building is located in the center of Keokuk. The building has a raised course white colored stone basement. On the northeast corner is a high square brick clock tower with hipped roof. The southwest section has a third story with small arched windows. In the interior the first story has a stair hall including “cast-iron newels, stair stringers and risers, the decorative wrought-iron balustrade, molded oak handrail, marble parquet floor, marble base and wainscot five feet high. There were 16 Italian marble fireplaces and the ceilings are 16 feet in height. On the lower level were imposing cast iron structural columns with octangular Corinthian caps, molded plaster beams and ceiling cornices. The wide hallways run northeast-southwest. The County District Court courtroom is located on the southwest side of the second story. The judge’s bench includes the original Victorian woodwork, window trim, benches and railings. The County Magistrate Court courtroom is located at the southwest corner of the third story and has an Italian marble fireplace. The building was constructed as the United States Post Office and was converted to the County Courthouse in 1992. The architect was The Design Partnership and the contractor was H & R Development.
Note: The architects realized the original five-story tower was not tall enough to serve its time-keeping civic function or to be in proper proportion to the whole. In 1890 to 1891, the top of the clock tower was removed and two additional stories were added to the tower so that it reached its current height of seven stories. The contractor was T R J Ayres & Sons of Keokuk
History: The county was created in 1837 and Fort Madison was selected as the county seat. The county seat was moved to West Point in 1843 and back to Fort Madison in 1845. In 1847, Keokuk became the south county seat. The first courthouse in Keokuk was the Sanford Medical College designed by W A Rice erected in 1856. The building was sold to the county in 1859. In 1976, the old YMCA Building designed by Harry E Ratcliff became the second courthouse until 1992 and is still standing. The third and present courthouse is the former Federal Courthouse and Post Office constructed in 1887 to 1888.
County Courthouse – Keokuk
County District Court courtroom
County Magistrate Court courtroom
Old Second County Courthouse – Keokuk
Photos taken 2008 and 2024
Images 42*