Boone County - American Courthouses

Boone County was originally named as “Boon County” since the residents believed it would be a “boon” to all who settles there and the “e” was added later.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Taney County, Missouri

E – Marion County and Searcy County

S – Newton County

W – Carroll County

Created: April 9, 1869

County Seat:

Bellefonte 1869 – 1873

Harrison 1873 – present

County Courthouse – Harrison

Location: 100 North Main Street / Stephenson Avenue

Built: 1908 – 1909

Style: Georgian Revival

Architect: Charles L Thompson of Little Rock

Contractor: A M Byrnes and C H McCauley

Description: The building faces south and is a two story red colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds of the Courthouse Square in the center of Harrison. The north front has a projecting center section with central entrance framed with stone. On the second story are three large windows with pediment above at the roof line. The red colored roof is hipped with pediment ends on the four sides. In the interior is a central hall on the first story, colorful patterned ceramic titles floors and marble baseboards. At either end of the hallway are marble dog-leg stairs with iron railings. The County Circuit Court courtroom is located at the southeast corner of the second story. There is a smaller courtroom located at the northeast corner. The courtroom is located on the second story. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 14th Judicial District. To the south is the Old County Jail designed by Charles L Thompson and built in 1914, and to the northeast are the Old Federal Building and Federal Building. At the southwest corner of Harrison is the County Government Center located in a former church at 220 North Arbor Drive and Capps Road.

See: National Register of Historic Places – Boone County Courthouse.

County Courthouse Annex (Federal Building) – Harrison

Location: 402 North Walnut Street / East Prospect Avenue

Built: 1999 – 2000

Style: Modern

Architect: Unknown

Contractor: Unknown

Description: The building faces east and is a two story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Harrison to the northeast of the courthouse and is named as the J Smith Henley Federal Building. The roof line is flat. In the interior there is a County Circuit Court courtroom and a County District Court courtroom both located on the second story. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 14th Judicial Circuit.

See: The 14th Judicial District includes Baxter County, Marion County and Newton County.

History: The county was created in 1869 and Bellefonte was designated as the count seat. In 1871, the first courthouse, a square frame structure was built in Harrison and in 1873, the county seat was moved to Harrison. The courthouse was destroyed by fire on July 4, 1908. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1908 to 1909.

Old County District Court Building – Harrison

Location: 201 North Main Street / East Rush Avenue

Built: 1904 – 1905

Style: Classical Revival

Architect: Unknown

Contractor: Shackleton Construction Company of Butte, Montana

Description: The building faces west and is a three story red colored brick, limestone and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped building is located in the center of Harrison to the north of the courthouse and is the Old Federal Building. The entrance is arched and located on the south side of the west front. The cornices are terra cotta. The roof line is flat. The building housed the County District Court. The building housed the Post Office from 1906 to 1965. Cost of construction was $78,863. The County District Court is now located in the J Smith Henley Federal Building at 402 North Walnut Street / East Prospect Avenue.

See: The County District Court is also located at 108 South Center Street in Alpena.