Kossuth County

US States / H-L / Iowa / Kossuth County
Kossuth

Kossuth County is named for Lajos Kossuth, who was a Hungarian patriot and who lived from 1802 to 1894.

 

Surrounding County Courthouses: 

N – Martin County, Minnesota and Faribault County, Minnesota 

E – Winnebago County and Hancock County

S – Humboldt County

W – Palo Alto County and Emmet County

 

Created:  January 18, 1851                    Map of Iowa highlighting Kossuth County

County Seat:

Algona  1866 – present

 

County Courthouse – Algona

 

Location:  114 West State Street / North Hall Street

Built:  1953 – 1954

Style:  Modern

Architect:  Dougher, Rich & Woodburn of Des Moines

Contractor:  Fagre Construction Company

 

Description: The building faces south and is a three story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Algoma. The building has a raised basement as the first story and a higher section at the west side. The south front has vertical concrete dividers with smaller vertical dividers separating the windows. The entrance is towards the west side with a projecting overhang and glass walls. The roof line is flat. In the interior, the County District Court courtroom is located on the southwest side of the third story. There is a small courtroom located on the east side. The building houses the County District Court of the 3A Judicial District. 

 

See:  The architect Dougher, Rich & Woodburn of Des Moines also designed courthouse in Buchanan County, Cass CountyHumboldt County, Jones County and Scott County.

 

See:  The 3A Judicial District includes Buena Vista CountyCherokee CountyClay CountyDickinson County, Emmet CountyLyon CountyO’Brien CountyOsceola County and Palo Alto County.

 

History:  The county was created in 1851 and Algona was selected as the county seat. The county offices were housed in various buildings. In 1866, the first courthouse was a frame structure built at a cost of $800. The second courthouse was an Italianate structure designed by M Mix and constructed by Peter Purvis in 1872 to 1874 at a cost of $40,000. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1953 to 1954 at a cost of $500,000.

 

 

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County Courthouse – Algona

 

 

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Board of Supervisors Meeting Room

 

 

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County District Court courtroom

 

 

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County District Court small courtroom

 

 

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Statue of Lajos Kossuth

 

 

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Cornerstone 1874 County Courthouse

Photos taken 2008 and 2023