Louisa County is named for Louisa Massey, who was a well known citizen because she avenged the murder of her brother when she shot the party responsible.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Johnson County and Muscatine County
E – Mercer County, Illinois
S – Des Moines County and Henry County
W – Henry County and Washington County
Created: December 7, 1836
County Seat:
Lower Wapello 1836 – 1840
Middle Wapello 1840 – 1856
Wapello 1856 – present
County Courthouse – Wapello
Location: 117 South Main Street / Washington Street
Built: 1928 – 1929
Style: Art Deco
Architect: Keiffer, Jones and Thomas of Des Moines
Contractor: Zohbon and Lewis of Des Moines
Description: The building faces east and is a two story buff colored brick, stone and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped building faces east and was completed in 1929. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Wapello. The east front has vertical white colored bands dividing the windows. A white colored horizontal band runs below the roof line. There is a large eagle carved in the stone above on the east front. The roof line is flat. In the interior, the County District Court courtroom is located along the east side of the second story. The County Magistrate Court courtroom is located at the northeast side of the second story. The building houses the County District Court of the 8B Judicial District and the County Magistrate Court.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Louisa County Courthouse
See: The 8B Judicial District includes Des Moines County, Henry County and Lee County.
History: The county was created in 1836 and Lower Wapello was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a cottonwood log privately owned structure built in 1836 in Lower Wapello. The county seat was moved to Middle Wapello in 1840 and the second courthouse, a brick structure was designed by John Rinearson and built in Middle Wapello at a cost of $1,300. The third courthouse was built by E B Isett in 1854 to 1855 at a cost of $9,578. The county seat became Wapello by incorporation in 1856. A courthouse was built in Columbus Junction in 1872 at a cost of $25,000 but was converted for use as a school when the county seat was not moved there. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 1928 to 1929 at a cost of $100,000.
County Courthouse – Wapello
County District Court courtroom
no images were found
County Magistrate Court courtroom
Photos taken 2008 and 2024
Images 18*