NPS Form 10-900 NPS/Four Mile Research Company Word Proceggor(Rev. E-86) (Approved l /se)

United States Department of the InteriorNational Park Service

National Register of Historic Places Registration Form

Format OMB No. 102,1-0018

l - \p -1o

C - " z - ' 1 1 1 iL_ t- -+-4- l

Thir form ir fot urc in nominating o. requeltin8 det€tminationr of €ligibility for individual propcrtica or dirtricta. See inltructionr inGuidclin.. for Completing Nationrl Regirter Formr (Nstionsl R.gi.ter Bulletin 16). Cotnpl.te Gach itcm by marking "r' in th. epproprietebox or by entering the requeltcd information. If an item doc| not rpply to th. prop.rty being documented, .nter 'N/4" for'notapplicablc.' Foa functiona, rtylc!, rnaterial., lnd ar..! of aignificrnc., .nter only thc cat.gori€r snd aubcategoricr liated in the in.tructiona.For additionsl .p.c. u!. continuation rhccte (Form l0-900r). Typc sll cntrie!,

1- Neme of Pronertvhistoric name Washinqton Countv Courthouseother names/site number WNO2-].;

2. Locationstreet & number 16th St bet Col fax & South Stsci tv. town Blairstate Nebraska code NE countv Washinqton code

N/AN./At77

not for publicationvicinitvz io code 68008

3. ClassificationOwnership of Propertyt 1 private[x] public-localt 1 public-statet I public-Federal

Category of Propertyt I building(s)lxl district

I siteJ structureI object

Name of related multiple property listing:Countv Courthouses of Nebraska

Number of Resources within PropertyContributing Noncontributing

I buildingssitesstructuresobjects

2 0 TotalNumber of contributing resources previouslylisted in the National Register 0

4- SJate/Federal Asency CertificationAs the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, I herebycertify that this 1/ nomination [ ] request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standardsfor registering pfoperties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professionalrequirements .set forth in 36 CFR Part .60. .ln n1 opinion, the property [Xl meets I I does not meet the

ional Registe.r p,riteria. [ ] See continuation sheet.

gnature of certifying official

State or Federal asencv and bureauIn my opinion, the property I I meets I I does not meet the National Register criteria. [ ] See cont. sheet,

Signature of commenting or other official Date

State or Federal asencv and bureau5. National Park Service CertificationI, hereby, certify that this property is:

I entered in the National Register.

[ ] See continuation sheetI determined eligible for the National

Register. [ ] See continuation sheet.I determined not eligible for the

National Register.

I removed from the National Register.

I other, (explain:) -

Signature of the Keeper Date of Action

Historic Functions (enter categories from instruct ions)Gove rnment/ courthou s e

Current Functions (enter categories from instruct ions)Government / courthou s e

7- DescrintionArchitectural Classification(enter categories from instructions)

Renal-ssance Reviva l

Materials (enter categories from instructions)

foundation stonewalls briqk

roof asphaltother stone

Describe present and historic physical appearance.[Xl See continuation sheet, section 7, page l .

8. Statement of SisnificanceCertifying official has considered the

Applicable National Register Criteria

Criteria Considerations (Exceptions)

Areas of Significance(Enter categories from instructions)Pol Lttcs/sovernment

this property in relation to other[ ] statewide [xJ locally

l x lC I ID

i l c i lD I tE i lF I

Period of Significance

1 8 8 8 - 1 9 3 9

Cultural Affil iationN/A

properties:

IG

Significant Dates

N/A1 8 8 9 - 9 1

significance of[ ] nationally

l x lA t lB

i lA i lB

Archi tecture

Significant PersonN/A

Architect/BuilderP l a c e y , O . H .

State significance of property, and justify criteria, criteria considerations, and areas and periods of significancenoted above.

[X] See continuation sheet, section 8, page l.

NPS Form l0-900-a NPS/Four Mi le Reaearch Company Word Processor Format(8-86) (Approved l /8e)

Uni ted States Department of the Inter iorNational Park Service

Nationaf Register of Historic PlacesContinuat ion Sheet

OMB Approval No. 102{-0018

Section number 7 Page

The Washington County courthouse is an excellent, relatively unalteredexample of the Property T)zpe, County Capltol . fdentifying featuresinclude: corner towers and central dorne, perrnanent costly naterials,elaborate ornanentation, Ronanesque Revival stylistlc j.nfluence, andinpression of a governrdent buildinq of pennanence and soIldity. To neetchanging law enforcement reguirenents, a large one-story jail has beenadded to the reari the deslgn is well handled and ls not intrusive. Aunique feature anong Nebraska courthouses are the painted netal fornsfound in the gabl.es over the two entrances. The objects symbolizefarming in the county, the irnrnigrant experience, and county governnent.Eighteen extant County Capltols were built betvreen L888 and 1907 acrossNebraska. With its 1889-9I construction date, the Washington CountyCourthouse is arnong the earller exanples.

The Washington County courthouse consists of two stories on a ralsedbasement. The basement level Ls rusticated rough Warrenburg, Missourisandstone. The upper walls are faced with St. Louls brick. Ribbons ofthe contrasting stone trln forn continuouE siIls and llntets and runaround the design, an effective unlfying feature.

A notable characteristic are the four corner totrers that firnly anchorthe design and the lofty central done placed astride a hipped roof.Additional gables h19h119ht slightly projecting bays on all sldes. Theprincipal entrance is on the rrest facade with a secondary entry to thenorth. I{hile the courthouse was designed slmnetrically ulth regularlyspaced bays and towers, lacking are entrances on aII sides as found onother County Capitols, despite the anple courthouse square.

The floorpl.an of the 94x62. courthouse reflects the presence of but tnoentrances. A long halhray runE north and south and lntersects at thecenter with a srnall atub of an entry hafl fron the nain entrance on thewest. Bhe clerkrs off lce and the treasurerrs off ice f lank this nainentrance, in the area most accessible to the public. vault placenentvaried nith the office, an unusual arrangenent in county capitols.Ranged along the east end fron north to south (in 1935) qtere offices forthe school superintendent, sherlff, and county Judge, and the countycourt roon was l,n the southeagt corner.

Also atypical is the locatlon of the District court Roon on the secondfloor. In nany courthouseE, this room runs the length of a facade. Herethe short (54t) expanse enJ oys vlews on the east and west sides while thelonger (52t) expanse open6 onto corner off lces as well as stairs on boththe north and south ends of the bullding.

1

NPS Form 1O-9O0-a NPS/Four Mile Reeearch Company Word Proceesor Format(8-Eo) (Approved 1/8e)

Uni ted States Depart rnent of the Inter iorNational Park Service

National Register of Historic PlacesContinuation Sheet

OMB Approva l No . 102{ -0018

Sect ionnumber 7 Page

The Washlngton County Courthouse waE not executed ln Just one architec-tural style, although the RenaLssance RevivaL Etyle donlnates in nassingand overall restrained approach. There are also elementg from theItalianate and Ronanesque Revival styles. Features from the latterlnclude the groups of snall round-arched wlndows, use of contrastlngbrick and stone, and the snooth colunn wlth elaborate foliated capitalat the entrance. The fancy netal cornice with its brackets representsan ItalLanate or other Late victorian stylistic Lnfluence and was likelyordered fron a builders catalog. RenaiEsance Revival. cornponents includestone courses at the linte1 and sill leve1 of ltlndows and the synnetry.The consoles that outline the gable ends and the done, especially theclassical detail of the triangular pedinents and engaged colunns, recallearlier American public buildlngs. Still other elements place thecourthouse flnnly in tbe Vlctorlan era: the irregular outline, tnanychirnneye, use of contraeting rnaterials.

A unique feature not found on other Nebragka courthouEeE are the palntednetal forns in the gableE over the two entrances. Several EubJ ects--cornucopia, wheat, punpklns--call attention to the fertile agriculturalfoundatlon of the county, trhlle the ship ln full salL llkely recall.e thelmrnigrant experience and the shields slmbollze county governrnent.Another highly unusual feature of the building are the stone rosettes atthe corners of windows; up to seven patternE (perhaps nore) are used.

Sone lnterior elernents renaln, including double flreplaces (placed back-to-back to heat two roons) and vault doors qrlth painted scenes on then.There have been substantlal and regular interlor nodificatlons, beginningln 1936 !,rith a wPA project. The courtrooD and other offlces have loweredcelllngs and fluorescent ligtrting, a typlcal change in county court-houses. Considerable original courtroon woodwork and furnishings rernaln,lncluding a nicely curvlng bar between spectator and court space.

Changes to the exterior of the courthouse are ninimal and lnclude stornwindows, removal of al"l. but one chlnney, new roofing in 19go, and anodern brick and glass entrance on the north. In addilion, the c. I9z5County-City Latr Enforcenent and Detention Facillty is a one-story brtck-faced rectangular addltlon to the rear of the courthouse. Ehe lotr scale,use of sini lar rnaterials, and design of the addit ion nake i t a relat lvelyunobtrusive change.

The large courthouse square the Washington County courthouse enjoysfurther enhances lts inpoelng appearance. A pronlnently placed ClvlfwlrUnlon Arny soldier ls one of a nunber of slnilar Etatuei the Grand Armyof the Republic had placed on courtbouse grounds acrosE the etate. Ii

2

NPS Form l0-0OO-r NPs/Four Milc Rc&srch Comprny Wotd Procc.ror Fomst OMB Approval No. l02a-001t(8-86) (Approvcd l/80)

Unlted States Department of the InterlorNatlonal Park Servlce

National Register of Historic PlacesContinuation Sheet

Section number 7 Page 3

was originally located nearby ln the street but rras later noved to 1tspresent location directly ln front of the naln entrance. The cAR Etatue,a contrlbuting element, is the only obJect on the ample tree-strewncourtbouse square.

NPS Form l0-900-r NPS/Four MilG R€6€a.ch Company Word Proc€s3or Format OMB Approval No. 102{-0018(8-t6) (Approv.d r/8e)

United States Department of the InleriorNational Park Servlce

National Register of Historic PlacesContinuation Sheet

Section number Page 1

The Washington County Courthouse is architecturally significant(Criterion C) and also historicatty signif icant (Criterion A) for i tsassociation with politics and local governnent. The property derives ltshistoric significance as the focal point for the adrninLstratlon of Ioca1government and institutlons ln Vlashington County. It iE a notabfeexanpLe of public architecture in the connunity and contalns goodexarnples of design features and facilities distinctLve to lts design anduse aE a courthouse. A unique feature not found on other Nebraskacourthouses are the painted netal forns ln the gable ends that slzarbollzefarrning in the county, the irnrnigrant experlence, and county governnent.

Eighteen extant County Capitols were bullt bettreen 1888 and 1907 acrossNebraska. With its 1889-91 construction date, the Washington countyCourthouse is among the earLier exanples. As an irnportant exanple of thecounty Capitol, the courthouse contains design features and facilitiesdistinctlve to its design and uEe (such a6 fireproof vaults), has cornertosrers and a done, coEt1y rnaterials, and elaborate ornarnentation.Elenents of the design cornbine to convey an lmpression of a governnentbuilding of pernanence and solldity, another feature of the CountyCapitol . The Period of Slgnificance is 1889, !'rhen construction began,to 1.939, when the |tfifty year rulerr takes effect. The waEhington countyCourthouse ls being noninated as an exanple of the Property Type, CountyCourthouses of Nebraska (County Capitol) of the Context, CountyGovernrnent ln Nebraska, 1854-1941, fron tlre Ltulttple Property Subnission,County CourthouseE of Nebraska.

Vlashington County is Located along the Missouri River and is adJ acent toDouglas County (Onaha). With this inportant riverfront location, thecounty ltaE anong the earliest organized in Nebraska and was establ.lshedin 1854 .

As wag coromonly the case, early residents vied for the county seatdesignation. Washington county was the only Nebraska county nhere therewas a death related to county seat selection, according to Schellenbergrsbook on county seat wars. In the 1850s and f850s, the towns of De sotoand Fort Calhoun wanted to be county seat. A crorrd of De soto backersnounted a siege on the 1og courthouse at Fort calhoun, and one nan ltaskitled ln the hostilities. Fort calhoun surrendered the county recordEto the nob after a tno-day stand-off, but later regalned the county seatdesignation in the appropriate manner, an eLection.

Blair, the present county seat, attained that standing in 1869. The

8

NPS Form 10-900-a NPS/Four Mile Research Company Word Processor Format(8-s6) (Approved l /8e)

United States Department of the InteriorNational Park Service

National Register of Historic PlacesContinuation Sheet

OMB Approval No. 102{-0018

Section number I Page 2

change undertined the ascendancy of the railroad as the key node oftransportation over the steanboat. After washington county votersapproved a $75,000 bond issue to help finance rail construction acrossthe county in 1868, John I. Blairrs l ine (part of the chicago &North$restern systern) entered the county. rt crossed the Missouri Riverfron Iowa Lnto Nebraska at a natural opening in the bluffs. This slteeffectively el.iminated De Sotots hopes of rail servLce fron that line.The railroad conpany, as vras its typical practl.ce, bought fand andestabl ished a rai l stop, B1air. on March 10, L859, the f irst lots inBlaLr were so1d. with the advantages of rail service and a more centrallocation than Fort calhoun, Blair won the county seat desJ.gnatlon in theelection held in 1859.

Blair developed as an agrlcultural shipping point and county seat. By1876 the populat ion lras an estinated 1,500. aeglnning in 1882, thecornnunlty experienced a short-lived boon. The chicago & NorthnesternRailroad built a new bridge acrosE the Missouri, and nany workers caneto Blair to lrork on the project.

In 1889 vfashington county Supervisors eought to build the presentcourthouse. BJ.air precinct voters, who naturally wanted to ensure thata new courthouse would be bullt ln their conmunity, voted a separateS5,000 bond issue to aid Ln courthouse construction. This was inaddit ion to the $35,000 countywide bond issue that passed ln June 1889.

Following the successful bond election, the county examined planssubnitted by architects fron onaha, Lincoln, and Superior, Nebraska, andKansas Clty. The careful building conmittee traveled to washington,Kansas to see the courthouse there by Kansas City architect Schrage.They then elfininated schrage fron consideration. After ten ballots,Lincoln architect o.H. Placey ttas selected on June 29, L889.

Placey had noved to Lincoln froro chicago sornetLrne between L883 and 1885.He is known to have designed two other courthouses: the Shelby Countycourthouse, Shel.byvi l le, I l l inoiE (1879-80) and, with wil l ian Gray, theYork County Courthouse, York, Nebraska (1885-88) (not extant). Inaddition, Placey submitted designs that were not accepted for four otherNebraska county courthouses, two in Ill.inois, and one each in Indiana andwisconEin. The nassing of Placeyrs Washingt.on county courthouse, Placey& crayts York county Courthouse, and Grayrs Johnson, Hanilton, and casscounty courthouses are the sane.

On septenber 10, 1889, the board opened bids for the _general contractorposition and selected Richards & conpany of onaha. Like the Gage countyLoard of supervisors, the washlnqton county board maintained an active

9- Melor Bibliosraohical References

Previous documentation on f i le (NPS):

t 1 prel iminary determination of individual l ist ing(36 CFR 67) has been requested

I previously listed in the National Register

I previously determined el igible by the National Register

J designated a National Historic Landmark

I recorded by Historic American BuildingsSurvey +*

I recorded by Historic American EngineeringRecord +*

[X] See continuation sheet, section 9, page l .

Primary location of addit ional data:[x] State historic preservation officet I Other state agencyt 1 Federal agencyI 1 Local government

t I Universityt I OtherSpecify repository:

10. Geosranhical DataAcreage of property 2.5 acres

UTM ReferencesA I 1 4 t t 7 1 3 l 8 t 9 1 9 t 0 l

Zone Eastingc t r l

Zone Easting

1 4 1 6 l 0 1 2 1 4 1 7 r 0 rNorthing

Northing

l l l l l l l l l lZone Eastingl l l l l l l l l lZone Easting

Lrrr r l t lNorthingl r l r l r r lNorthing

[ ] See continuation sheet, section 10, page l .

Verbal Boundary Description

[X] See continuation sheet, section 10, page l.

Boundary Justification

[X] See continuation sheet, section 10, page l .

name/titleorganizationstreet & numbercity or town

Barbara Beving Long, consultantFour MiIe Research Co. date November 8, 19993140 Easton Boulevard te lephone (515) 266-4964Des Moines state f owa zip code 5 O 3 17

NPS Form l0-900-r NPS/Four Milc Rcrcarch Company Wotd Prcc..lor Formnt OMB Approval No. lo2{-oolt(E-t6) (Approved t/sg)

United States Department of the InteriorNalional Prrk Servlce

National Register of Historic PlacesContinuation Sheet

Section number 10 Page 1

Verbal Boundary Descrj.ption

The nonlnated property occupies all lotB (t-12) in B1ock 25 of theoriglnal Plat of Blalr and iE roughly 36ox3obr lr i Eize.

Boundary Justification

The boundary- incrudes the entire clty block that has historlcally beenaEeociated slth the property.

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Aspect: West – Photo by D. Murphy, Feb 1977, NSHS (7702/3:24)

Aspect: Southwest – Photo by D. Murphy, Feb 1977, NSHS (7702/3:26)

Aspect: Southeast – Photo by D. Murphy, Feb 1977, NSHS (7702/3:27)

Soldiers Monument, loaned for copy by Dave Wells, Omaha

WN02-001 Washington County Courthousecrthse pics