Atchison County - American Courthouses

Atchison County is named for David Rice Atchison, who was a United States Senator from Missouri.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Fremont County, Iowa and Page County, Iowa

E – Nodaway County

S – Holt County and Richardson County, Nebraska

W – Nemaha County, Nebraska and Otoe County, Nebraska

Created: February 14, 1845

County Seat:

Linden 1846 – 1855

Rock Port 1855 – present

County Courthouse – Rock Port

Location: 400 South Washington Street / West Cass Street

Built: 1882 – 1883

Style: Romanesque Revival

Architect: Edmund J Eckel and George R Mann of St. Joseph

Contractor: R K Allen

Description: The building faces east and is a two story red colored brick structure. The building sits on the side of a hill on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Rock Port. The east front has a high square brick clock tower. The steeply sloped mansard roofs and projecting dormer windows are covered with slate and metal roofing. Decorative brick corbeling below the eaves provides a transition from wall to roof. The roof is hipped. In the interior a main hallway runs east-west with wood stairs ascending to the County Circuit Court courtroom located in the center of the second story. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 4th Judicial Circuit. The County Commissioners Meeting Room is located on the first story. To the southwest is the old County Jail which houses the Sheriff’s office.

Note: In the jury box are rocking chairs. Also see Nodaway County.

See: The architect, Edmund J Eckel and George R Mann of St. Joseph and the contractor, R K Allen, also designed and constructed the courthouse in Nodaway County.

See: The 4th Judicial Circuit incudes Gentry County, Holt County, Nodaway County and Worth County.

History: The county was created in 1845 and Linden was selected as the county seat in 1846. The first courthouse was a two story wood frame structure built by Isaac F Wallis in 1847 to 1848 at a cost of $475. The county seat was moved to Rock Port in 1855. The second courthouse was a two story brick structure designed by W H Dunbar and built in 1856 to 1858 at a cost of $12,000 to $15,000. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1882 to 1883 at a cost of $25,000.