Christian County - American Courthouses

Christian County is named for William Christian, who was a soldier in the American Revolutionary War, and who lived from 1743 to 1786.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N –Greene County and Webster County

E – Douglas County

S – Taney County and Stone County

W – Stone County and Lawrence County

Created: March 5, 1859

County Seat:

Ozark 1859 – present

County Courthouse – Ozark

Location: 100 West Church Street / North 2nd Street

Built: 1919 – 1920

Style: Neo-Classical Revival

Architect: Henry H Hohenschild

Contractor: H J Hanson of Sarcoxie

Description: The building faces north and is a three story red colored brick, stone and concrete structure. The square shaped building is located on landscaped grounds of the Courthouse Square in the center of Ozark. The north front of the building has a slightly projecting center section with stone framed entrance on the first story and two columns rising from the second story to the top of the third story. Above is a small balustrade. Each entry porch is framed by an entablature of cast stone; the double-doors and undivided full-span transoms are metal replacements. On the third-story is a pair of inoperable oval windows that are framed by a decorative cast stone garland with an eagle perched above, wings spread. The roof line is flat. In the interior, the historic courtroom is located on the east side of the second story.

See: The architect, Henry H Hohenschild, also designed courthouses in Barry County, Osage County, Pemiscot County, Pike County, Pulaski County, Scott County and Washington County.

See: National Register of Historic Places – Ozark Courthouse Square Historic District

County Justice Center – Ozark

Location: 110 West Elm Street / North 2nd Street

Built: 2001 – 2002

Style: Modern

Architect: Bates and Associates

Contractor: R E Smith Construction Company of Joplin

Description: The building faces north and is a two story red colored brick, stone and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped ground in the center of Ozark on the south side of the courthouse. The north front of the building has a semi-circular center section with four columns on the first story and recessed entrance. The windows are long and vertical. The roof line is flat. The building is attached to the County Jail along the south side. In the interior, there is a lobby along the north side of the second story with the three County Circuit Court courtrooms along the south side. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 38th Judicial Circuit.

County Circuit Court Building – Ozark

Location: 102 West Walnut Street / North 2nd Street

Built: 2017 – 2019

Style: Modern

Architect: Paragon Architects Architecture and Treanor Architects of Springfield

Contractor: DeWitt & Associates Inc. of Springfield

Description: The building faces east and is a three story red colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped ground in the center of Ozark on the south side of the County Justice Center. The east front has a two story section with large windows and the main entrance. The main part of the building which extends west is red colored brick. The roof line is flat. In the interior, the entrance lobby is two stories with stairs ascending to the second story. The building contains two County Circuit Court courtrooms. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 38th Judicial Circuit.

History: The county was created in 1859 and Ozark was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a two story frame structure built in 1860 and was destroyed by fire on August 20, 1865. The second courthouse was a two story brick structure built by William Lauring in 1866 under the supervision of James W Robertson at a cost of $7,775. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1919 to 1920 at a cost of approximately $90,000. The County Justice Center was constructed in 2001 to 2002. The County Circuit Court Building was constructed in 2017 to 2019 at a cost of $11,200,000.