Leavenworth County - American Courthouses

Leavenworth County is named for Henry H Leavenworth, who was a general in the United States Army and after who Fort Leavenworth was named.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Atchison County and Platte County, Missouri

E – Platte County, Missouri and Wyandotte County

S – Johnson County and Douglas County

W – Douglas County and Jefferson County

Created: August 25, 1855

County Seat:

Kickapoo 1855 – 1856

Delaware 1856

Leavenworth 1856 – present

County Courthouse – Leavenworth

Location: 300 Walnut Street / South 3rd Street

Built: 1911 – 1913

Style: Classical Revival

Architect: William P Feth of Topeka

Contractor: J B Betts Jr. of Topeka

Description: The building faces south and is a three story gray colored limestone and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Leavenworth. The walls are limestone masonry units laid in running bond with the rusticated limestone foundation and limestone quoins. The south front has a large portico supported by six columns rising to a pediment at the roof line. The recessed entrance has rounded stone trim. A horizontal projecting cornice runs below the roof line. In the interior is a central rotunda which rises to a skylight above the second story. There is an entrance on each of the four side. Interior finishings include terrazzo flooring, marble wainscoting, oak doors, plaster walls and ceilings, scagliola columns and an iron and marble staircase with marble treads. The County Commissioners Meeting Room is located at the southeat corner of the second story. The building was remodeled in 1951.

Note: The contractor, J B Betts Jr. of Topeka, also constructed the courthouse in Marion County and Riley County.

See: National Register of Historic Places – Leavenworth County Courthouse

County Justice Center – Leavenworth

Location: 601 South 3rd Street / Walnut Street

Built: 1995 – 1996

Style: Modern

Architect: Shaughnessy Fickel & Scott Architects Inc.

Contractor: J E Dunn Construction Company.

Description: The building faces west and is a three story concrete and glass structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Leavenworth to the east of the courthouse. The west front has a central entrance with projecting concrete porch and glass panels behind. On the third story, the windows extend horizontally. The other windows are small and square. The roof line is flat. In the interior there are four courtrooms located on the third story. The building houses the County District Court of the 1st Judicial District.

See: The 1st Judicial District include Atchison County.

History: The county was created in 1855 and Kickapoo was selected as the county seat. The first county meeting was held in a warehouse owned by Lewis H Rees. In 1856, the county seat was moved to Delaware and then to Leavenworth. A small building on the northwest corner of Delaware Street and Third Street and then City Hall house the county records. The first courthouse was a three story structure designed by Carr & Schultz and constructed by Anderson & Liddle in Leavenworth in 1873 to 1874 at a cost of $120,416. The courthouse was destroyed by fire on March 22, 1911. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1911 to 1913 at a cost of $110,916. The Justice Center was constructed in 1995 to 1996 at a cost of $143,153.