Jackson County | US Courthouses

Jackson County is named for Andrew Jackson, who was the 7th President of the United States from 1829 to 1837.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Clay County and Ray County

E – Lafayette County and Johnson County

S – Cass County

W – Johnson County, Kansas and Wyandotte County, Kansas

Created: December 15, 1826

County Seat:

Independence 1827 – present

County Courthouse – Kansas City

Location: 415 East 12th Street / Oak Street

Built: 1933 – 1934

Style: Art Deco

Architect: Wight and Wight of Kansas City, Keene and Simpson, Edward F Neild of Shreveport, Louisiana and Frederick C Gunn

Contractor: Swenson Construction Company

Description: The building faces north and is a twenty-eight story cream colored limestone and glass structure. The base of the building is five stories with the east and west sections extending from the main building. Above rises a central tower for ten stories with another five stories at the top. The entrance is recessed and there is decorative work on the stone.

Note: The first courthouse was an unfinished five-story hotel at Second and Main purchased for $20,000. The building was completed in 1872 at a cost of $90,000 and the architect was A B Cross and the contractor was W B Everhart was contractor. A tornado seriously damaged the building in 1886. The next courthouse was designed by Leo Canman ( or Canmann ) and was constructed in 1892 at a cost of $500,000. The present courthouse was constructed at a cost of $2,145,000.

County Courthouse – Independence

Location: 308 Lexington Street / Main Street

Built: 1836– 1837

Style: Neo-Classical

Architect: Henry Chiles

Contractor: Daniel King.

Description: The building faces south and is a three story red colored brick and stone structure. The building is located on the landscaped grounds of Independence Square in the center of Independence. The south and north sides have large porticoes with four columns rising to a pediment at the roof line. The east and west wings are lower in height. On the center of the roof is a high square white colored clock tower with open cupola at the top. The building is named as the Truman Courthouse. The cupola was added in 1846. In 1852, the building was enlarged and completed in 1853. The architect was Jacob C Hovey and John McCoy and the contractor was Leonard and Stewart. In 1872, a new east wing with tall clock tower was added and the exterior was covered with red colored brick. In 1887, a west annex was added. In 1905, major renovations commenced and were completed in 1907. The architect was William E Brown and the contractor was Chris Yetter. In 1932, the last major remodeling was commenced and completed in 1933. The architect was David Frederick Wallace of Keene and Simpson of Kansas City and the contractor was Weeks Construction Company. The building was renovated in 2009 to 2013. The architect was Piper-Wind Architects of Kansas City and the contractor was Universal Construction Company Inc. of Kansas City.

East Jackson County Courthouse – Independence

Location: 308 West Kansas Avenue / South Osage Street

Built: 1954 – 1956

Style: Modern

Architect: Unknown

Contractor: Unknown

Description: The building faces south and is a three story red colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on the landscaped grounds in the center of Independence to the southwest of the Truman Courthouse. The building is rectangular shaped with the main entrance at the center of the south side. The entrance projects slightly from the main building and is faced with cream colored concrete. The first story entrance is glass with large glass windows extending above. On the west side of the entrance are narrow vertical windows and a section projecting from the main building. The roof line is flat. The building was renovated in 1972. A major renovation was completed in 2013 to 2015. The architect was Burns & McDonnell and HOK ( Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum ) and the contractor was Excel Construction of Overland Park.

Old County Courthouse – Independence

Location: 107 West Kansas Avenue / South Main Street

Built: 1827

Style: Log Cabin

Architect: Daniel P Lewis

Contractor: Daniel P Lewis and slave labor

Description: The building faces north and is a one story two room log cabin structure. The building is located on the landscaped grounds in the center of Independence to the south of the Truman Courthouse. The north front has a porch supported by six white colored posts. A wood balustrade runs along the porch roof. The roof is hipped. The architect was under the supervision of Lilburn W Boggs and constructed using slave labor.

Note: The courthouse was originally located on the southeast corner of Lexington Street and Lynn Street and when built, was the only courthouse between St. Charles, Missouri and the Pacific Ocean along the Santa Fe Trail. The building was used as a courthouse as late as 1932 unfer Judge Harry S Truman.

See: The 16th Judicial District covers Jackson County.

History: The county was created in 1826 and Independence was selected as the county seat in 1827. The first courts met in private homes. The first courthouse was a log cabin structure built in 1827 as a temporary courthouse at a cost of $150. The log structure was later moved in 1916 and is still standing. The second courthouse was a brick and stone structure designed by Lilburn W Boggs and was built by James King in 1828 to 1831 at a cost of $1,900. In 1836 the third courthouse was a brick and stone structure designed by Henry Chiles and built by Daniel King at a cost of $3,500. The cupola was added in 1846. The building was remodeled in 1852 at a cost of $12,500. In 1872 the east wing was added at a cost of $48,000. In 1905, renovations were completed at a cost of $100,000. In 1932 to 1933, the building was remodeled at a cost of $145,351. The building was renovated in 2009 to 2013 at a cost of $5,625,141. The East Jackson County Courthouse was constructed in 1954 to 1956.

See: Missouri Court of Appeals – Western District is located in Kansas City.