Bourbon County is named for the Bourbon County in Kentucky which was named in honor of the Bourbon dynasty of France.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Linn County
E – Vernon County, Missouri
S – Crawford County
W – Allen County
Created: August 25, 1855 
County Seat:
Fort Scott 1855
Marmaton 1855 – 1863
Fort Scott 1863 – present
County Courthouse – Fort Scott
Location: 210 South National Avenue / West 3rd Street
Built: 1929 – 1930
Style: Classical Revival
Architect: Cuthbert & Suehrk of Topeaka
Contractor: Thogmartin-Reid Construction Company
Description: The building faces east and is a three story brown colored brick, stone and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Fort Scott. The east front has three rectangular doorways with stone facing on the first story. Four columns rise from the second story to the top of the third story dividing the recessed windows. Above is a wide header. A projecting cornice runs along the roof line. The building houses the County District Court of the 6th Judicial District. On the north side is a one story annex which was originally constructed as a jail in 1976 but is used for offices.
See: The architect, Cuthbert & Suehrk of Topeka, designed courthouses in Montgomery County and Norton County.
See: The 6th Judicial District includes Linn County and Miami County.
History: The county was created in 1855 and Fort Scott was selected as the county seat. The county seat was moved to Marmation in 1858 and then back to Fort Scott in 1863. The first courthouse in 1863 was the City Hall designed by Goodlander & Allison erected in Fort Scott at a cost of $3,900. The court occupied the second story. The second courthouse was designed by J H Gardner and constructed by James Thomson in 1887 and was destroyed by fire in 1929. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1929 to 1930 at a cost of $160,470.
County Courthouse – Fort Scott
Fort Scott National Historic Site – Fort Scott
Photos taken 2009