In 1812 New Madrid was a vast county extending
south through much of Arkansas. The area was cut roughly in half
during the following year, and even further reductions came by
1816. New Madrid County, located by the Mississippi, was one of
Missouris earliest counties. The town of New Madrid was founded
in 1783, and the county was organized in 1812. First courts met
in New Madrid, but county records previous to 1816 are
missing.
After the devastating earthquake of 1811 and
repeated flooding of the Mississippi, the court chose an inland
site for the county seat. According to an 1888 account, court
convened in March 1814 in Big Prairie, and the seat of justice
was located in Rossville, just south of present-day Sikeston, on
a 50-acre site donated by Stephen Rose and Moses Hurley. Lots
were sold to build a jail in 1817, which also served as a meeting
place. County Court records in 1817 mention courts convening in
the courthouse, and a page in the 1817 County Record has a simple
drawing showing the jail in the center of a square and an
intended courthouse at the edge. But there is no indication that
a courthouse was built at Rossville.
Winchester, also in the neighborhood of Sikeston, was
identified in the records as an early county seat. Securities for
three commissioners of the courthouse and jail were made October
24, 1817, and according to the County Record, court was held
April 12, 1819, at the courthouse in Winchester.
Two years later, in May and August of 1821, court met in a
home, and the sheriff was ordered to take possession of the
courthouse of New Madrid county in Winchester and superintend
repairs. The public property in Winchester was ordered to be sold
to the highest bidder on May 14, 1824, but county records do not
mention the courthouse.
The seat of justice moved to New Madrid February 4, 1822;
commissioners were appointed for the courthouse and jail on May
13, 1822. This courthouse has been reported as one of the first
frame buildings in the county; the others presumably were of log
construction. According to Wetmore's Gazetteer of 1837,
all the buildings in New Madrid were frame to hold up against the
continued shaking of the earth after the New Madrid earthquake of
1811.
On November 17, 1848, the court ordered the disposal of the
public square and the courthouse to help defray expenses for a
new courthouse and square. A similar order appeared June 11,
1852, but apparently the courthouse was not sold until October 3,
1854.
For the new courthouse, ordered June 11, 1852, the court
changed the location, appointing Robert Hatcher to select the
site by purchase or donation. The cost was not to exceed $2,000.
Apparently Hatcher failed to act; the court then appointed Thomas
J. O. Morrison to replace him in February 1853. More problems
followed, with one contractor forfeiting bond. Work was
eventually completed; Morrison recommended the court receive the
building November 13, 1854, reporting an expenditure of $2,950.
On March 17, 1875, five commissioners were appointed to select
a new site for relocating the courthouse and other public
buildings. The courthouse reportedly had been moved three times
to escape the encroaching river.
Fire, however, rather than flood, finally destroyed this
courthouse on September 24, 1905. A contemporary news account of
the fire described the building as a one-story frame, constructed
of red cypress, with a small door in the north gable above the
porch. There were two offices on the south end, two on the north,
with a courtroom in the middle.
No known photographs exist of any 19th century New Madrid
courthouses. After the fire, county offices moved into several
different buildings in New Madrid. Lilbourn, a few miles west of
New Madrid, challenged for the county seat in 1912, but by vote
New Madrid remained the people's choice.
For the 20th century courthouse, New Madrid County purchased a
new site north of the original town in March 1915. From
architects who presented plans, the court selected those from H.
G. Clymer of St. Louis. Clymer's plan was for a brick building
107 by 75 feet with stone trim (see Figure 2). The court accepted
the Interstate Building and Construction Co.'s bid of about
$80,000 for the shell. Citizens donated $20,000 to supplement the
$50,000 bond issue. Cornerstone ceremonies were July 4, 1915.
Additional funds for finishing the courthouse and jail were
authorized early in 1917, but no bids were received. World War I
was beginning, and the labor force was reduced. Finally, W. W.
Taylor, a master builder from Cape Girardeau, superintended final
interior work, which was completed in January 1919. Final costs
exceeded $100,000. This courthouse continues in use as New
Madrid's seat of justice.
