| Gasconade County | |
| Organized November
25, 1820, (effective January 1, 1821) from Franklin County and named for
the Gasconade River. Gasconade may be one of the early satirical
nicknames, like Paincourt, meaning "short of bread" for St.
Louis, which has survived. It probably derived from the French word
gascon meaning "boaster, braggart" which may have been applied
to the people who lived along the river and who may have been inclined
to brag about their exploits when they returned to St. Louis.
County Seat: Hermann Address: Gasconade County |
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| Photograph | |
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| History | |
| Gasconade
City, Bartonville and Mount Sterling were early locations of Gasconade's
county seat. Courts began meeting in Gasconade City, located on the
Gasconade River, in 1821 and continued meeting there until 1825, when
flooding caused relocation. The second site, Bartonville, was also
located on the Gasconade River, in what later became Osage County. It,
too, flooded, and the county seat next moved to Mount Sterling in 1832.
Volume A of the County Court Record indicates that the court planned a one-story, 22-foot-square, hewn-log building; however Goodspeed's History of Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Crawford and Gasconade Counties of 1886 describes a 20-by-24 foot, log, two-story building on stone foundation, with a stone chimney and two fireplaces. The courtroom was on the first floor. Joshua Cox contracted the building for about $300. After an election on March 14, 1842, the county seat moved to Hermann. The town paid for the courthouse, which was built in the center of a block on East Front Street (see Figure 1). This site, high on a bluff above the Missouri River, is one of few courthouse sites that takes advantage of a natural vista. The square, two-story, brick building with hip roof cost about $3,000. The County Court used this courthouse until 1896 when they ordered it razed. The present courthouse, a gift to the county from Charles D. Eitzen, was built in 1896-98. Architects were J. B. Legg, St. Louis, and A. W. Elsner, Jefferson City, who originally presented plans calling for a 143-by-88-foot building. The two-story courthouse had a finished basement and a dome that rose 120 feet. Originally, the building was to be constructed of light-gray or medium-buff brick with matching terra cotta trim. The main roof was to be dark Pennsylvania slate, the dome roofs of tin, painted a copper color. The rotunda and corridors were to be tiled in Italian marble and mosaic. In February 1897 the court called for bids. Thirty contractors responded, but all bids for the Legg-Elsner design were too high. The architects then modified the plans, eliminating some of the more costly specifications. Red brick with white stone trim was substituted for the gray or buff brick. Again the court called for bids; H. J. Wallau received the building contract for $41,500 and completed his work in 1898. On the first floor, offices open off a long east-west hall; the 41-by-44-foot Circuit Court room is located on the west end of the second story. Dedication took place May 25, 1898. Fire damaged the building February 3, 1905. This courthouse may be compared with two similar courthouses Legg designed a few years later: Mississippi County, also of red brick, and St. Charles County, done in gray stone. Copyright 2002 University of Missouri. Published by University Extension, University of Missouri-Columbia. |
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| Additional History | |
| The
first county seat was located in Gasconade City, near the mouth of the
Gasconade River, but due to frequent flooding was moved to Bartonville,
also on the Gasconade River and what is now part of Osage County. In
1830, also due to flooding it was moved to higher elevations at Mt.
Sterling where it remained until 1842 when by a county wide vote it was
moved to Hermann.
Daniel M. Boone, son of the famous pioneer Daniel Boone, was appointed one of the Commissioners of the Territorial Legislature in December, 1820, to locate the "most suitable place for the erection of a courthouse and jail in the County of Gasconade." It was this commission that located the county seat at Gasconade City. Daniel M. Boone also served as one of the first justices of the Gasconade County Court. The present courthouse is the second building on the same site to serve as the courthouse. The first, a square two story brick building with a hip roof, cost $3,000.00 and was paid for by the City of Hermann. The building was used until 1896 when it was razed to make a site for the present building. The present courthouse building, a gift to the county from a local Hermann merchant, Charles D. Eitzen, was built 1896-1898 and is probably the only privately gifted courthouse in the United States. His gift consisted of appx. $48,000.00. A large portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Eitzen hangs in the Circuit Court room on the second floor. On February 3rd, 1905, the building was heavily damaged by fire, as a result of which the entire dome, the roof, and a large portion of the second floor were destroyed. |
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| Records at Courthouse | |
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Recorder
of Deeds:
Index to deeds, 1821-1888; Deed records, 1821-1889; Marriage records,
1822-1920; Marriage register, 1883-1916. Clerk
of the
County Court: Permanent record of births, 1867-1896; Register of
births and stillbirths, 1883-1891; Permanent record of deaths,
1883-1896. Clerk
of the Circuit Court: Index
to circuit court records, 1868-1875 and 1877-1888; Circuit court
records, 1821-1888; Naturalization records, 1894-1904. |
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| More Links | |
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Birth & Death Records Database Search
for Gasconade County on Archives'
Online Catalog Roll
by Roll Listing of Microfilm Index of Surnames in Wills and Adm. Bonds 1821-1860 Missouri Birth & Death Records Database: Search & Record Availability |
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