Cedar County is named for the abundance of cedar trees In the region.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – St. Clair County
E – Polk County
S – Dade County
W – Barton County and Vernon County
Created: February 14, 1845 
County Seat:
Crow’s Mill 1845 – 1846
Stockton 1846 – present
County Courthouse – Stockton
Location: 113 South Street / Jackson Street
Built: 1939 – 1940
Style: Art Deco
Architect: James D Marshall and M Dwight Brown of Kansas City
Contractor: W F Edgell and Son of Leavenworth
Description: The building faces east and is a two story monolithic poured concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Stockton. The east front has a projecting center section with three vertical openings for the center entrance and windows. There are decorative panels between the windows. The roof line is flat. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 28th Judicial Circuit. This was a Works Projects Administration project. Hare and Hare, landscape consultants, assisted with the plan. On the west side is a three story addition.
See: The 28th Judicial Circuit includes Barton County, Cedar County, Dade County and Vernon County.
History: The county was created in 1845 and Crow’s Mill was selected as the county seat. The county seat was then moved to Stockton ( Fremont ) in i846. The first courthouse was a house purchased from Samuel Moore in 1847. The second courthouse was a brick structure built by Dozier C Gill, Isaac Ragan and A M Long in 1852 at a cost of $5,500 and Benjamin H Cravens was the superintendent. M C White was hired to complete the building at a cost of $3,000. The courthouse was destroyed during the Civil War on October 5, 1863 and the county had no courthouse for four years. The third courthouse was a two story brick structure built in 1867 under the supervision of B Davis at a cost of $10,000. In 1868, James A Cogle supervised repairs to the building. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 1939 to 1940 at a cost of $112,600.
County Courthouse – Stockton
Picture 1867 County Courthouse
Photos taken 2009