Virtually every property owner and resident of
Jo Daviess County is familiar with the county court house.
That's where you pay property taxes, register to vote, take care
of speeding tickets, serve on a jury, or complain to the county
board. Virtually no one, however, is familiar with the
origin of our court house building and how it has changed over
the years. The current structure is one of the oldest in
northern Illinois. It was not begun, however, until twelve
years after the establishment of the county. Jo Daviess
County, named after a prominent Kentuckian who never set foot in
the county, was established in 1827. With Galena as the
county seat, Illinois's newest county encompassed most of the
northwestern Illinois. As population increased, at least
five other counties were formed from Jo Daviess.
Amazingly, the northern border was not clearly defined until
1830, such that many Wisconsin towns in the burgeoning lead
district were thought to be included. One of the first
county commissioners, in fact, resided in Shullsburg, ten miles
north of the actual border. Because the United States
Government owned the lead lands and would only lease parcels,
there was no way that a permanent court house could be
financed. As a result, county business was transacted by
renting space, the first sessions being held in a local
tavern! Interestingly, one of the first acts of the
commissioners was to establish license fees for taverns--$9.00
for one year. Not only that, they also passed an ordinance
dictating the prices which taverns could charge for food and
drink. Revenues from which to run the county were few and far
between. Most came form either licenses or a small tax on
personal property. Little came from land sales because
ownership was not yet permitted in the county's most settled
parts, the lead region. 
The
Jo Daviess County Court House as it appeared prior
to 1900. In
keeping with the tradition of more southerly states--to which
early Illinois was closely allied--county government was
administered by three commissioners. There was no township
form of government, and would not be, until the new Illinois
constitution of 1848 permitted counties to choose by
referendum. Northern Illinois counties then adopted
township government en masse, it being the favored form of
government by the New Englanders who came to settle most of
northern Illinois. Jo Daviess, however, with its strong
southern ties, gave up its commission form of government only
after three separate referenda. By
1833, the commissioners had moved court house proceedings to a
larger space. This was the warehouse of Charles Peck, a
large wooden structure located where the DeSoto House Hotel now
stands. This also proved inadequate, and in 1838 the
commissioners purchased one-half of the newly constructed John
Dowling building for $16,000. This stone structure still
serves Main Street. (It is now Fried Green Tomatoes.) The
Dowling building, however, was intended to be temporary
quarters--until the county could find a suitable lot and build
their own structure, one befitting the largest and most powerful
county in northern Illinois. Thus, in September of 1836,
they offered a premium of $100 for the best plan for a court
house, the cost of which was expected to be $40,000. The
award went to Charles H. Rogers, who submitted a plan for a
beautiful Greek Revival structure with a portico supported
by four large pillars. Meanwhile,
the tax payers--what few there were--were wondering where the
money was going to come from. As of 1836, lots in Galena
could finally be owned rather than leased with money from the
sale of those lots going to the county. Despite this extra
income, the county was heavily in debt, particularly with the
purchase of the Dowling building. Nevertheless, the three
county commissioners pushed forward, even in the face of an
economic downturn in 1837. In
December of 1838, they ordered "that John L. Slaymaker and
Samuel Mazzuchelli be appointed Engineers to superintend and
oversee the architectural work which will be required in the
building of a new Court House for the County..." The
choice of Father Mazzuchelli was significant, for he was not
only a Dominican missionary (on a Protestant frontier) but also
a teacher, scientist, architect, and builder. Largely
through his efforts was the Catholic Church able to establish
such an early and strong foothold in the Tri-State area. But
even the likes of Mazzuchelli failed to move construction
forward in a timely manner. The court house was not built
under contract but rather with various individuals appointed to
act as agents for the county, each to complete specific parts of
the project. A severe lack of funds compounded the
problem. Record keeping was lax. It
was ordered in April of 1838 that "John L. Slaymaker be paid
$26.00 for making a coffin for a pauper and work of unknown
nature done in basement of court house." Richard
Dunigan excavated 882 yards of material for the basement at 50
cents per yard, but could not be paid in full until the county
had more funds. In
December of 1839, desperate commissioners ordered that "the
Senator and Representatives of this district be requested to use
their influence to have a Special Act passed by the legislators
to authorize the County Commissioners of Jo Daviess County to
Mortgage Real Estate belonging to the County for the purpose of
raising money in order to finish and complete the Court
House." Jo Daviess legislators exercised their
political clout and in less than two months, the Special Act had
been enacted. Incredulous
voters watched as the commissioners immediately mortgaged both
the old and new court house lots. The result was $7,000 at
10% interest. With more money and renewed confidence, work
continued through the summers of 1840 and 1841. Shortages
of materials and poor management continued to plague the
project, however. In
December of 1842, it was ordered "that the agreement of
contract under which John L. Slaymaker has commenced completing
the court house be made null and void." Slaymaker continued
as a contractor on the project, but overall supervision appears
to have been consolidated under two of the commissioners. Work
continued, but at a slow pace, either through lack of funds or
mismanagement--or both. In September of 1843, the
commissioners "ordered that Abner Eads...take charge of the
lumber, glass, and other matters and articles provided for the
new Court House and see that the same be not suffered or
destroyed or go to waste." Bids
for finishing the work "according to a plan on file"
were advertised, with the low bidder being required to put up a
security to make sure the work was done "well and
quickly." Evidently
the situation improved, for by the end of 1844 the new Jo
Daviess Count Court House was nearing the habitable stage, five
years after the start of construction. In December of that
year, authorization was given for payment of $151.53 for stoves
and pipes. Equally
important, $135 (a princely sum in those days) was paid out for
the building of a privy for the court house. (From the
minutes of the County Commissioners Court it was not possible to
tell if the privy was handicapped accessible.) The
new court house was in full session by the spring of 1845, but
work on finishing up the details would go on for another five
years as the county struggled to get out of debt. In the absence
of good documentation, the total cost of the structure may never
be known. Estimates ranged from $40,000 to $60,000.
Meanwhile, the First Presbyterian Church, another prominent
stone structure begun in 1838, was completed for $11,000.
Voters, though proud of their imposing new edifice, were
outraged by the cost. Their displeasure helped fuel the
referenda that ultimately led to the ouster of the commissioner
form of government in favor of the township form. As
the seat of government for Jo Daviess County, the court house
has been the site of events local, regional, and, indeed,
national significance. Most noteworthy may have been the
events leading up to the county's entry into the Civil
War. In April of 1861, Lincoln called for 75,000 troops to
put down the southern secession. Galena, unlike the rest
of Jo Daviess County, still had economic and social ties to
slave holding states. It was uncertain how the county seat
would respond to Lincoln's call for troops. But
on April 16, 1861, at a public meeting held in the court house,
fire breathing orator, attorney, and prominent Democrat John
Rawlins proclaimed "that the time for compromise had
passed, and that we must appeal to the God of battles to
vindicate our flag!" His
words were received with thunderous applause from all
sides. Pondering those words was none other than Ulysses
S. Grant, who chaired a meeting to sign up volunteers two days
later. By the end of the war in 1865, Grant had led Union
forces to victory over the Confederates. His Chief of
Staff was none other than John Rawlins. The
court house served its citizens faithfully for another 30 years,
but concern began developing over the condition of the front
portico with its four columns. This, combined with the
growth in county government and need for more space, led the
supervisors to plan a new addition for the front of the
building. They chose a three story brick section with
mansard roof and large cupola, typical of the period.
Unfortunately, the design obliterated the Greek Revival lines of
the original building. Many citizens were outraged. Work
commenced in July of 1900, but there were problems from the
start. A state inspector shortly ordered work suspended
because the front wall of the old court house was in danger of
collapse. The wall had to be entirely rebuilt--using brick
rather than stone. To make matters worse, the architect
chose brick from Dubuque rather than Galena. The supply of
Dubuque brick ran out, however, and several thousand were then purchased
of Alderman Horney of Galena. Reported the Galena Daily
Gazette, "Galena brick is on top just the same." In
November, the County Building Committee inspected the work, only
to find a problem with the new arch over the main
entrance. Keystones that did not fit were redone. By
the end of December the new addition, which rose 90 feet to the
top of the tower, was ready for occupancy.
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