Nodaway County is named for the Nodaway River which is named after a Potawatomi Indian word meaning “placid” or “jump over the river”, or from the Algonquin word meaning “snake or “enemy”.
Created: February 14, 1845
County Seat:
Maryville 1845 – present
County Courthouse – Maryville
Location: 305 North Main Street / West 3rd Street
Built: 1881 – 1882
Style: Romanesque Revival
Architect: Edmund J Eckel and George R Mann of St. Joseph
Contractor: R K Allen
Description: The building faces west and is a two story red colored brick and stone structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of the city. The building faces is 76 feet by 111 feet and is trimmed with sandstone. A white colored stone portico is at the first story on the west front. Above the portico rises a high thin brick clock tower with steep roof. The windows are trimmed with white stone. There are dormers in the roof. Alterations were made in 1932.
Note: The first courthouse was built by Benjamin Sims in 1846 to 1847. The second courthouse was designed by James Ray, the superintendent and constructed by James C Nelson in 1854 to 1855 at a cost of $4,461. The cost of the present courthouse was $60,000.
See: The architect, Edmund J Eckel and George R Mann of St. Joseph and the contractor, R K Allen, also designed and constructed the courthouse in Atchison County.
Courthouses:
N – Page County, Iowa and Taylor County, Iowa
E – Worth County and Gentry County
S – Andrew County
W – Holt County and Atchison County
County Courthouse
Photos taken 2008