ALLAMAKEE
COUNTY
Established: February 20, 1847
Organized: January 15, 1849
County Seat: Waukon
Some authorities state that Allamakee
County (662 square miles) was named for Allen Magee or
Allan Makee, an early Indian trader and trapper in
northern Iowa, who was familiarly known to the Winnebago
Indians and called in their guttural dialect, Al-ma-gee.
Others say the name is purely of Indian origin. Each of
these two theories has its supporters.
The first county seat, selected in January 1849, was in
Jefferson Township, about one and on-half miles northwest
of Rossville, at a place known as “The Old
Stake.” However, the selection was considered
useless as there were other points of greater importance
already settled in Allamakee County.
In April 1851, the citizens of the county voted upon the
location of the county seat. Vailsville (later known as
Harper’s Ferry), Smith’s Mill, and Columbus
(located on the river in Lansing Township, near the town
of Lansing) were considered, but none received a majority
of the vote. Another election was held in May 1851 at
which Columbus received a majority of the votes and
became the county seat. Since this was so near the town
of Lansing, a rivalry developed between Columbus and
Lansing. As a result, a new commission was appointed by
the General Assembly in January 1853 to select a suitable
site. Actually, the first courthouse in Allamakee County
was a log house, built in 1852 near Waukon (commonly
spelled Wawkon in the early days and named for a chief of
the Winnebago Indians known to early settlers as John
Wawkon, whose name means “Thunder” or
“Spirit.)” This building was used for county
purposes only that year, following which it was moved on
into the town to serve as a blacksmith ship. Later, it
was again moved to a farm, where it was used as a corn
crib until finally demolished.
The newly-appointed commissioners selected the town of
Waukon for the county seat and, at the elections of April
1853, the question of removal to that place was submitted
to the people and carried by a large vote. The people of
Columbus fought this selection in the courts, but were
unsuccessful. The second courthouse at Waukon was then
built in 1853. This small frame structure, costing $325,
was used until 1857, when another frame building was
added beside it, and these two buildings were used for
country purposes until 1861, when the county seat was
moved again. This old courthouse at Waukon was razed in
1913.
Meanwhile, in March 1856, various petitions were
presented requesting removal of the county seat to
Rossville, Whaley, and Topliff’s Mill, but Waukon
won out.
The heated contest that developed between the towns of
Waukon and Lansing as to the location of the county seat
actually dated back to early 1859. Both towns offered to
build on suitable lots and, as an inducement, present
them to the county. Lansing offered to donate $8,000 and
Waukon $5,000. Following an election in April 1859, a
permanent courthouse was erected and completed in Waukon
during the years 1860-1861, at a cost of $13,655
(contractors Charles W. Jenkins and John W. Pratt). Of
this sum, $5,000 was contributed by citizens of Waukon,
as promised.
Other hotly contested elections involving Columbus,
Lansing, and Waukon followed with the result that the
county seat was relocated at “The Point,”
between Lansing and Capoli, in 1861, where a courthouse
was erected in the same year. Built of stone and somewhat
smaller than the building at Waukon, the $5,000 it cost
was paid by citizens of Lansing and given to the county.
In 1862 and again in 1864, Waukon made an effort to
regain the seat of justice. There followed an exciting
attempt in June 1866 to remove county records and
documents from The Point by a posse of 30 men from
Waukon, but the “raid” failed, as Lansing
recovered the stolen records. However, Lansing proved to
be only a temporary choice as, in 1867, the county seat
was returned to Waukon and the waiting courthouse. Early
in the spring of 1869 the contest was reopened and
“waxed warm,” but Waukon won out as it did
again during another county seat election (number 10) in
1875—Waukon’s final triumph in securing and
retaining the county seat, after a 25-year running
battle.
The present courthouse, of modern design, was built in
Waukon in 1940-1941. The old courthouse went unused from
1941 until 1964, after the new courthouse was built. On
July 10, 1964, the Allamakee County Historical Society
opened a museum in the old courthouse completed in 1861.
The “architectural gem” contains a central hall
with a distinguished double stairway and solid walnut
railings. The former courtroom on the second floor is
furnished with old law books, judge’s chair and
bench, witness chair, and jury box.
A Civil War monument sits on an 11-foot-square concrete
base at the southeast corner of the courthouse square.
This statue of a soldier, standing and holding his
musket, dates back to the 1920’s. The stately elms
that formerly graced the courthouse fell victim to Dutch
elm disease and had to be removed in the fall of 1975 and
replaced with new trees.
~excerpt from: The Counties and Courthouses of
Iowa; by LeRoy G. Pratt; copyright 1977; First
Edition
~transcribed by Linda Ziemann
Allamakee county courthouse, undated
My Great-Great Grandmother, Caroline
Reed Cooper put together a "Childhood
Memories" photo album for her daughter, my Great
Grandmother Virginia Elizabeth Cooper Lenz. This
photo was in that album.
~contributed by Aubrie Lynn Lee
This
building is still the Allamakee county courthouse.
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