Linn County is named for Lewis F Linn, who was a United States Senator from Missouri and who was born in Kentucky.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Sullivan County
E – Macon County
S – Chariton County and Livingston County
W – Livingston County and Grundy County
Created: January 6, 1837
Linneus 1837 – present
County Courthouse – Linneus
Location: 108 North High Street / State Street
Built: 1913 – 1914
Style: Classical Revival
Architect: R W Trump and Rae Sanneman-Goold of Kansas City
Contractor: Ray and Son
Description: The building faces south and is a three story buff colored brick, stone and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Linneus. The building is 55 feet by 80 feet and has stone facing on the first story. The center sections on each side project slightly. The roof line is flat with a cornice below. In the interior, the floor is laid in small white colored octagonal tile with green and red colored fretwork decoration along the edge of the floor. There is a marble goggle staircase with metal railings on each side. The County Circuit Court courtroom is located on the north side of the third story and has a row of windows on the east and west sides of the building. On each wall are two decorative white colored pillars. The judge’s bench is oak. There is a stained glass window with a wreath design with the letters “LC” in the center of the wreath. The small courtroom is located on the southeast side of the third story. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 9th Judicial Circuit. On the west side is the rectangular shaped one story County Courthouse Annex.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Linn County Courthouse
See: The 9th Judicial Circuit includes Chariton County and Sullivan County.
History: The county was created in 1837 and Linneus was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a two story hewn-log structure built by David Jenkins and Goldsby Quinn in 1841 at a cost of $516.50. The second courthouse was designed by Thomas Barbee and was built by Joseph (or James) L. Nelson in 1848 at a cost of $3,894.85. The building was remodeled in 1865 to 1867. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1913 to 1914 at a cost of $60,000.
County Courthouse – Linneus
County Circuit Court courtroom
County Circuit Court small courtroom
County Courthouse Annex – Linneus
Photos taken 2009 and 2026
Images 16*