Worth County Courthouse (Northwood, Iowa)
Encyclopedia
Worth County Courthouse in Northwood, Iowa
Northwood, Iowa
Northwood is a city in Worth County, Iowa, United States, along the Shell Rock River. The population was 2,050 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Worth County.Northwood is part of the Mason City Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

 was built in 1893 in a Romanesque style
Romanesque Revival architecture
Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid 19th century inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque architecture...

. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 (NRHP) in 1981. The building is the second courthouse for the county and it was completed in 1893. It was constructed in brick and features a small tower. The building was enlarged and remodeled in 1938.

History

The first courthouse was built in 1879 with a contributed total of $5,075 with construction finishing in 1880. Before the courthouse was finished, it was agreed that the land that the courthouse sits on can be apportioned
Apportionment
The legal term apportionment means distribution or allotment in proper shares.It is a term used in law in a variety of senses...

 to the people who participated in the erection of the courthouse if the land went back to the original owners and that the only way that the courthouse can be moved is if there is a written majority consensus from the contributors to move it. The first courthouse was made out of bricks and was considered plain and only $4,400 of the contributed sum was used to build it.

Current courthouse

Built following an election which resulted in Northwood remaining the county seat and completed in 1893, the current courthouse is made out of brick and has a base made out of limestone. It includes a small tower with no clock. Out of the donated $5,000 only $4,594 was used to build the courthouse. The first tower was replaced and the entire courthouse renovated in 1938. A Civil War cannon is on the grounds of the courthouse that was erected by the Worth County Sesquicentennial Commission in 1996. The carriage of the cannon was manufactured at the Northwood
Northwood
Northwood is a suburban area in Greater London, and is part of the London Borough of Hillingdon.The population was recorded as 11,068 in 2008, by the Office for National Statistics.-Toponomy:...

 Foundry while the rest of the cannon was manufactured at the Fort Pitt Foundry
Fort Pitt Foundry
The Fort Pitt Foundry was a nineteenth century iron foundry in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was originally established at Fifth Avenue and Smithfield Street in 1804 by Joseph McClurg, grandfather of Joseph W. McClurg. It was later moved to the area of Pittsburgh now known as the Strip District at...

. The cannon is an 1861 columbiad
Columbiad
The Columbiad was a large caliber, smoothbore, muzzle loading cannon able to fire heavy projectiles at both high and low trajectories. This feature enabled the columbiad to fire solid shot or shell to long ranges, making it an excellent seacoast defense weapon for its day...

. The cannon use to be located on the north bank of Shell Rock River
Shell Rock River
The Shell Rock River is a tributary of the Cedar River in southern Minnesota and northern Iowa in the United States. Via the Cedar and Iowa rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River. The United States Board on Geographic Names settled on "Shell Rock River" as the stream's name...

. An expansion of the courthouse in 1990 included new offices, a new jail, and a conference room.
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