Story County is named for Joseph Story, who was a United States Supreme Court Justice in 1853.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Hamilton County and Hardin County
E – Marshall County
S – Jasper County and Polk County
W – Boone County
Created: January 13, 1846
County Seat:
Nevada 1853 – present
County Justice Center – Nevada
Location: 1315 South B Avenue / 14th Street South
Built: 2000 – 2002
Style: Modern
Architect: Wells, Kastner, Schipper
Contractor: Woodruff Construction Company
Description: The building faces south and is a two story brick, concrete and glass structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds to the south of the center of Nevada. The center section is recessed with dark brown colored brick on the second story and glass walls on the first story. To the west of the entrance is a large polished stone panel. On the west side is a one story section with recessed windows. On the east side is a two story section with dark brown colored brick, white stone and glass. The building houses the County District Court of the 2B Judicial District.
See: The 2B Judicial District includes Boone County, Calhoun County, Greene County, Hamilton County, Hardin County, Humboldt County, Marshall County, Pocahontas County, Webster County and Wright County.
History: The county was created in 1846 and Nevada was selected as the county seat in 1853. The first courthouse was built in 1853 and destroyed by fire in 1864. The second courthouse was designed by William Foster and built by J B Randall in 1877 at more than $40,000. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1966 to 1968 at a cost of $1,000,000. The Justice Center was constructed in 2000 to 2002 at a cost of $12,700,000.
County Administration Building – Nevada

Location: 900 6th Street / I Avenue South
Built: 1966 – 1968
Style: Modern
Architect: Stenson and Warm Inc.
Contractor: Andersen Construction Company
Description: The building faces north and is a three story concrete and glass structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Nevada to the north of the Justice Center and was completed as the Story County Court House. On the east and west sections are vertical concrete dividers. The center section has gray concrete sections with a white colored section in the center.

County Justice Center – Nevada







County Administration Building – Nevada




Picture 1877 County Courthouse
Photos taken 2008