Adams County - American Courthouses

Adams County is named for John Adams, who was the second President of the United States of America, or for John Quincy Adams, who was the sixth President of the United States of America.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Hall County

E – Clay County

S – Webster County

W – Kearney County

Created: February 16, 1867

County Seat:

Juniata 1871 – 1878

Hastings 1878 – present

County Courthouse – Hastings

Location: 500 West 4th Street / North Denver Avenue

Built: 1962 – 1964

Style: Modern

Architect: Henningsen, Durham and Richardson Inc. of Omaha

Contractor: Fast Construction Company of Hastings

Description: The building faces south and is a three story glass, chrome, stone and concreter structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Hastings. The rectangular shaped building has dark red colored polished marble panels framing the entrance. The rest of the building front is glass divided by chrome dividers. The third story is recessed and has white colored stone facing. The roof line is flat. In the interior, the County Court courtroom is located on the northwest side of the second story and the County District Court courtroom is located on the northeast side of the second story. There is a third courtroom along the east side. of the second story. The building houses the District Court and County Court of the 10th Judicial District. On the north side of the building is the red colored brick County Courthouse Annex which was originally the Elks Building designed by Kenneth Hayde Gedney of Hastings and built in 1927 to 1928.

Note: During construction, the following subcontractors were hired; Anderson Brothers Plumbing and Heating of Kearney (Mechanical ) – $214,822, Guarantee Electric Company of Hastings (Electrical) – $72,156, Wright and Mack Company of Omaha (Elevator) – $28,594 and Southern Steel Company of San Antonio, Texas (Jail) – $44,580.

See: The 10th Judicial District includes Clay County, Franklin County, Harlan County, Kearney County, Nuckolls County, Phelps County and Webster County.

History: The county was created in 1867 and Juniata was selected as the county seat in 1871 when the county was organized. The first elections were held at the home of Titus Babcock in Juniata in 1871. The first courthouse was erected in 1872 and was 20 feet by 16 feet. In 1878, the county seat was moved to Hastings. The county occupied rented premises. The second courthouse was a two story St. Louis pressed brick and Colorado sandstone structure with Wichita stone trimming designed by Charles C Rittenhouse and constructed by J H Sims of Hastings in 1889 to 1890 at a cost of $77,815. The building was demolished in 1964 when the third and present courthouse was constructed in 1962 to 1964.