Jasper County Courthouse

Rising from the center of the community's public square is this two-story Beaux-Arts Classical essay. Architects from the Des Moines firm of Proudfoot and Bird were correct and observant in creating this lively version of the classical tradition. The building is composed of six cubes; each of the facades has Ionic columns, and the entrance is located in the raised basement. At the center of the composition is a 56-foot-high drum and dome. The walls are of gray Bedford limestone with emphasis placed on the horizontal joints of the stone. Inside, corridors proceeding from each of the four sides of the building converge on a central rotunda. The second level of the rotunda is surrounded by eight Doric columns; above, on the third level, is a circle of eight Corinthian columns. In the four arches of the pendentives of the rotunda are paintings by Edgar Cameron of Chicago that illustrate events in the history of the county. Above these is a vaulted ceiling of colored art glass. The building has been renovated and the frescoes and stenciled designs have been restored.