Old Iron County Courthouse

The Old Iron County Courthouse, now the Iron County Historical Museum, at 303 Iron St. in Hurley in Iron County, Wisconsin, was built in 1892–1893. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.[1]

This article is about thebuilding in Wisconsin. For the building in Texas, see Old Irion County Courthouse.
Old Iron County Courthouse
Location303 Iron St., Hurley, Wisconsin
Coordinates46°26′52″N 90°10′59″W
Area0.5 acres (0.20 ha)
Built1892-93
Built byRinke and Means; Rinke and Carroll.
ArchitectL.H. Ruggles
NRHP reference No.77000031[1]
Added to NRHPJuly 26, 1977

Building

The Old Courthouse is a two-story red pressed brick building with brownstone ornamentation, 83 by 69 feet (25 m × 21 m) in plan, in an eclectic style with Richardsonian Romanesque features and two towers, one a "castellated High Victorian" clock tower, the other capped by a dome.[2] Designed by L.H. Ruggles, it was an unusually large and elaborate public building for Wisconsin at that time.[2]

History

The building was constructed in 1892–1893 as the town hall for the former town of Vaughn, which was then in Ashland County.[2][3] Before its completion, the majority of the building was leased to the newly formed Iron County, and although under the lease terms the "court room" space was to be used primarily for meetings of the town council, it quickly became the county courthouse. The building originally also included the firehouse for the then village of Hurley; the central arched doorway in the main facade that accommodated fire-fighting equipment has been modified.[2]

The clock tower has clocks on all four sides with a 1922 Seth Thomas clockworks,[4] which replaced the 1893 original after lightning damage; electricity was installed for the purpose.[3]

The Iron County Historical Society acquired the building in 1976 and restored it to house the Iron County Historical Museum.[3]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. Donald N. Anderson (December 2, 1976). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Old Iron County Courthouse". National Park Service. Retrieved June 5, 2018. With accompanying photos from 1975
  3. "Iron County Historical Museum". Hurley, Wisconsin. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  4. "Iron County Courthouse". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2014-06-08.


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