Linn County | US Courthouses

Linn County is named for Lewis F Linn, who was a doctor and a United States Senator from Missouri.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Miami County

E – Bates County, Missouri

S – Bourbon County

W – Anderson County

Created: August 30, 1855

County Seat:

Paris 1867

Mound City 1867 – 1871

La Cygne 1871 – 1873

Farmers City 1873 – 1874

Pleasanton 1874 – 1875

Mound City 1875 – present

County Courthouse – Mound City

Location: 315 Main Street / South 3rd Street

Built: 1885 – 1886

Style: Romanesque

Architect: George Ropes of Topeka

Contractor: Z Mentzer ( supervisor )

Description: The building faces north and is a two story red colored brick and stone structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Mound City. The north front has an arched window above the doorway with stone above and a large arched window on the second story. The front rises to a peak with a square white tower behind having a steep roof. Along the east and west sides are three dormers on each side. The base is gray colored limestone. In the interior are duel wood stairs and dark wood trim. The County District Court courtroom is located at the center of the second story and has a high ceiling. The building houses the County District Court of the 6th Judicial District. On the north side across Main Street is a small Courthouse Annex.

Note: The building is the second oldest courthouse in Kansas still used as acourthouse and theoldest is located in Chase County (1873). During construction, J W L Bell did the excavation work, G W Goodlander of Fort Scott laid the foundation, John T Trigg of Centerville, Iowa did the brick work and Z Mentzer was the superintend and purchaser of materials. The cost of construction was $20,000.

See: The building is the fourth oldest courthouse in Kansas. The oldest courthouse is located in Chase County (1873), second oldest in Pottawatomie County (1884) (vacant) and the third oldest in Gove County (1885) (vacant).

See: National Register of Historic Places – Linn County Courthouse

County Justice Center – Mound City

Location: 208 East Main Street / North 3rd Street

Built: 2020 – 2022

Style: Modern

Architect: Goldberg Group Architects of Saint Joseph, Missouri

Contractor: River City Construction of Ashland, Missouri.

Description: The building faces south and is a two story red colored brick, stone, glass and concrete structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Mound City on the north side of the courthouse. Red colored brick faces the lower two-thirds and white colored brick faces the upper on-third section. On the south side is a projecting stone and glass entrance section. On the west side is the two story jail section. The roof line is flat. In the interior are two County District Court courtrooms located at the center of the north side. The building houses the County District Court of the 6th Judicial District.

Former County Judicial Building – Mound City

Location: 316 Chestnut Street / South 3rd Street

Built: 1978 – 1979

Style: Modern

Architect: Kansas Steel-Built Inc. of Topeka

Contractor: Kansas Steel-Built Inc. of Topeka

Description: The building faces east and is a one story red colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located in the center of Mound City on the north side of the courthouse. A ripple concrete skirt descends from the flat roof line. The building stands vacant after 2022.

See: The 6th Judicial District includes Bourbon County and Miami County.

History: The county was created in 1867 and Paris was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was the home of James P Fox in Paris purchased for $100. The county seat was moved to Mound City in 1867 and the second courthouse was the United Brethren Church erected in 1863 and purchased for use as a courthouse in 1866. In 1871, the county seat was moved to La Cygne and then to Farmers City in 1873. The county was again moved to Pleasanton in 1874 and then returned to Mound City in 1875. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1885 to 1886. The County Justice Center was constructed in 2020 to 2022 at a cost of $16,000,000.