6/18/25 Times Past
These photos show two of the three Ozark County Courthouses that have stood on the Gainesville square since the first one (left) was completed in 1874 at a cost of $1,825.28. The small block building with a tin roof was added in the early 1900s to house and protect the county records. When the courthouse burned in 1937, only the records that had been put in the records building were saved. A bandstand stood just beyond the records building. The Times Past items below give a glimpse of how some county residents advocated unsuccessfully for a new courthouse for nearly 40 years before the fire. After the loss of the first courthouse, the county bought and moved into the Christian Church building on the east side of the square. (A small portion of the church can be seen on the left edge of the photo.) It was available because the congregation was moving. In 1937, the former church building-turned-courthouse also burned, and county offices operated out of several rented quarters on the square until the current building (photo right) was completed in 1939. It cost $43,000 and was paid for by a county bond issue and a 55 percent matching grant from the Federal Works Project Administration. This photo of the building under construction is shared from the State Historical Society of Missouri.
Bakersfield News
June 24, 1905
The unpainted shack which now stands as an excuse for a Court house [ed’s note: built in 1874] is certainly a disgrace to Ozark County and an unpleasant index to the non-progressiveness of the people of the county. . . . A suitable stone Court house and Jail should be built. . . . The present shanty that is doing duty as a Court house is a veritable tinder pile and liable to go up in flames at anytime and likewise all the valuable papers in its keeping.
Ozark County Times
Dec. 1, 1905
Editorial – The question of a new Court house has apparently lost all interest, but it . . . should not be allowed to rest until the bonds are issued and the building complete. As the cold weather approaches and the necessity of keeping big fires increases, the danger to the old building and the records is apparent and prompts us to again mention the necessity of that new stone Court house.
Nov. 23, 1933
Letter to the editor – I would be glad to hear from you both pro and con . . . about the proposition that the Government has put up to us in regard to building a new Court House in Ozark County. They offer to pay 30 per cent of the cost provided the county will vote bonds for a thirty year period at 5 per cent and give four or five years to building up a fund to make the first payment. With the material here in our own county in the way of building stone, I figure that if the people would vote $30,000 we could build a new court house and jail . . . , and the levy would not be more than ten cents on the one hundred dollar valuation. . . . We all know the old fire trap we have is a disgrace to any county. The records are exposed to fire, and if it should burn, it would cost the land holders several hundred dollars to get abstracts and perfect the title to their lands. . . . J. C. Harlin
Feb. 8, 1934
Editorial – From the vote in many of the townships of the county in the court house election last Saturday, the voters evidently believe the county don’t need a new court house. The old cow-barn we have is costing us yearly something near $1,000, . . . besides the danger to which all our important county records are exposed.
Nov. 29, 1934
The fearful call of “Fire!” sounded through our little city about 1:30 o’clock Wednesday morning when fire was discovered issuing from the southwest and northeast corners of the court house. By the time citizens arrived on the scene, the fire had gained such headway and nothing could be removed from any part of the building. . . .
The books of the treasurer were most all destroyed, as were also those of the probate judge. All the files and some of the circuit and county clerk books were consumed. The collector is the only official able to carry on the business of his office; his books were all saved. . . .
The origin of the fire is a mystery.
Jan. 17, 1935
The county court here this week, we understand, has purchased or leased the Christian church for a court house for the county.
Jan. 21, 1937
Headline – Fire Again Destroys Ozark County Court House. Nothing was saved from the burning building. . . . When the fire was discovered about 12:30 o’clock Saturday morning, fire was breaking out through the windows and roof in the northeast end of the building, and inside, from the basement up, the whole east end of the building was a roaring furnace. . . . Nothing could be saved. . . . The origin of the fire is not known but is believed to have started from a newly installed furnace in the east end of the basement. No insurance was carried on the building; insurance companies refused insurance on account of the stove pipe arrangements.