Scott County Courthouse (Iowa)

The Scott County Courthouse in Davenport, Iowa, United States was built from 1955 to 1956 and extensively renovated over a ten-year period between 1998 and 2009. It is the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration. It is part of a larger county complex that includes the county jail, administration building and juvenile detention facility.HistoryScott County was established in 1837 by the legislature of the Wisconsin Territory. Until this time the area had been a part of Des Moines County. The first court sessions in the county were held in St. Anthony's Catholic Church. The juries met in a room that was made available by George Davenport.County Seat electionDavenport and Rockingham, a town a mile south on the Mississippi River, contended for the county seat. An election was held in February 1838. Because the population base at the time was in the southern part of the county, Rockingham was favored. Davenport’s promoters paid $3,000 in whiskey and bribes to miners from Dubuque, Iowa to vote for Davenport, which won the election. Rockingham contested the election and a new election was set for August 1838. A rule was put in place whereby one had to be a resident for at least 60 days in order to vote in the election. Both towns’ promoters defrauded the ballot box this time. Laborers were imported to work in the mills at least 60 days before the election and Illinois citizens were invited to vote. When the county commissioners purged the polls after the election Davenport won by two votes. Rockingham again protested and the legislature of the Iowa Territory, of which Scott County had become a part of in 1838, set a new election for the summer of 1840.