Built between 1890 and 1893 at a cost of $74,000, the Jefferson County Courthouse sits a block north of the square in downtown Fairfield, Iowa. The courthouse, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981, is constructed of Cleveland gray sandstone and red brick.
Like many courthouses in the state, changes to the building have centered around the clock tour. In 1948, a violent wind storm damaged the 36-foot steeple on the clock tower, and county supervisors voted to remove the steeple to save the expense required for repairs. Lifelong Fairfield resident Lee Gobble successfully renewed an effort to restore the steeple, which has now been a part of the clock tower since 2004.
The current Post Office in the Muscatine County community of West Liberty opened its doors to much fanfare on March 1, 1977. The new location featured more post office boxes, a larger lobby area, and a dedicated parking lot for both employees and customers. The brick post office resembled thousands of post offices opened across the country in the previous two decades. Like the other offices, the facility was built by a private construction company to lease to the U.S. Postal Service.
The Muscatine Journal noted the opening marked the first time the West Liberty Post Office occupied a new building, though it had been housed in at least eight previous locations. Postal service to West Liberty had been in place since 1838, when the first office was opened within the local general store. Immediately prior to the opening of the new location, the office was located in a downtown storefront.
The Stanton Public Library was established in 1941 and is currently located in the old City Hall building at the south end of the community’s central business district. Open six days a week, the library collection features 7,000 books, along with a number of videos, DVDs, and audiobooks. A local group called Stanton Friends is leading an effort to build a large multi-purpose facility which will house the library in a space four times the size of the current location. Nearly two-thirds of the project’s $2.8 million price tag has been raised; an opening date has not been set.
The first library established in the Louisa County town of Letts opened its doors in May 1910 in a space above a local barber shop. Originally called the Letts Reading and Rest Room, the growing library moved twice in its first three years of existence. It then relocated to a renovated home for over 20 years before moving back downtown to an old bank building in 1939.
In 1946, the city purchased a building in downtown Letts specifically for library use. Locals donated time and materials to complete the repairs and renovations necessary before the new location formally opened in 1947. Though the library remains in the same location today, a number of upgrades have been made over the years, including the addition of a children’s area in 1995.
The current public library in the Mills County community of Silver City moved to its current location in January 1985, following a two-year fund-raising campaign to construct the new 22 x 56 foot building. Open four days each week, the library serves the 259 residents in Silver City, along with those in nearby rural areas. The library’s small budget is supplemented by an annual Ice Cream Social and fund-raising efforts of the Friends of the Silver City Library committee.
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