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The
North Lee County Courthouse was built in 1840 to stop other Lee County
communities from contesting the decision to make Fort Madison the county
seat. While the Van Buren County Courthouse started construction
earlier, it finished later and both courthouses claim to be Iowa's
oldest courthouse still in use. The courthouse is a Greek Revival with
four large Tuscan columns of plastered brick. Its architect was the
Dominican pioneer priest, Father Samuel Mozzuhelli, who also designed
the first St. Paul Church in Burlington. In 1847 the Iowa Legislature
granted Keokuk a concurrent jurisdiction making Lee County the only Iowa
county with two county seats. In 1911, the building that was built in
1841–1842 was almost completely destroyed by fire. Its tower cupola fell
in a flaming heap and was not replaced during the rebuilding. The North
Lee County Courthouse was
listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
Visiting the North Lee County Courthouse
There is no charge to visit the North Lee County
Courthouse.
Location:
The North Lee County Courthouse is located at the corner of 7th Street
and Avenue F, two blocks north of Avenue H (US-61) in the
downtown district of Fort Madison.
 Learn more about the
Fort Madison
area.
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