I read with interest the recent discussion in the December 8, 2024, Times-Republican about insuring the Courthouse for Historic Replacement valuation vs simple replacement cost valuation. That decision is obviously incredibly significant! The question was asked at the recent meeting, if the courthouse were to be significantly damaged in the future, why not replace it with a more affordable new building?

Would anyone advocate such a proposal if the United States Capitol Building were to be severely damaged by a tornado or hurricane? Would a new style building in Washington D.C. be acceptable to the national public’s sense of place?

Throughout history humans have endeavored to create and leave enduring monuments and heritage sites that answer the needs humans seem to have for a sense of place.

That sense of place has been explored by philosophers, historians, and human geographers like Edward Relph did in his 1976 book Place & Placelessness.

What is a sense of place and its importance to humans?

Some describe a sense of place as emotional connections to a location or heritage site that includes a sense of community. A sense of place evokes feelings of shared roots and historical connections to both our ancestors and to those who follow us. It is a place of self-identity even though we may live somewhere else in the world. It is that sense of place that is a connection to home!

When the nation, and indeed the world, watched national news clips that showed the Marshall County Courthouse cupola falling to the ground during the 2018 tornado, countless former residents across the nation and the world called, texted, or emailed their families here at home. They sought to share a sense of loss with their friends, neighbors, and families.

The fellow Marshall County residents who contacted home were expressing fear for the loss of the Courthouse. One historic preservationist predicted that very possible sense of loss, should the courthouse be replaced and lost to the community. In 1974, during the debate of whether to rehabilitate the courthouse or to replace it with a new building, he wrote the following.

“The removal of this structure from Marshalltown would be the destruction of the one unique building that gives the firmest impression of identity and a sense of place for Marshall County residents…the removal of this centerpiece for the whole county would be an ABRUPT BREAK with history!”

That 2018 tornado…was a historical event that loomed large in the minds of many citizens. Would the Courthouse be lost forever? Would this grand old lady built 1886-1888 be gone from the center of town and the county? Would what had been the shared symbol of community to past, current, and future generations be gone forever? The Courthouse has been our shared sense of roots that connects us both to the past and to the future!

Fortunately, a prior board of supervisors had insured it for historical replacement value and not simply replacement value. The current Board of Supervisors shows the same inclination and appears on track to follow through with that commitment. Future generations will be thankful for the board’s vision and courage. Will that always be true if leadership commitment to that precedent of Historic Replacement insurance waivers in the future?

Marshall County voters were asked three times to spend tax money to demolish the courthouse and replace it with a new building (1954, 1968, and 1972). Each vote of the people failed to get even 49% of the voters to approve it. Voters were asked only once in 1974 to spend $3.25 million to rehabilitate the building through adaptive reuse. That passed with 71% approval!

Adaptive reuse is an architectural plan to preserve as much as possible of the original building while making needed modernization and expansion of space. The board overseeing the most recent adaptive reuse, after the tornado, continued by preserving as much as the exterior and some historic interior as possible while also modernizing the interior.

The exterior of the courthouse and the public square are the most visible elements to most residents and former residents around the globe. The current building preserves the sense of place that so many of our citizens value. It continues to be the focal point in the public square that draws festivals, celebrations, musical performances, and public ceremonies.

Insurance agent Shomo, during the recent meeting, referred to the Courthouse as “Our St. Louis Arch.” That description captures the sentiment that people feel. It comes close to describing the sense of place for Marshall County citizens, current and former.

The following quote is from former Marshall County Courthouse preservationist, Mariel Oldham, who wrote in 1972.

“Marshall County without the Courthouse would be like Paris without the Eiffel Tower!”

During the turbulent community argument from 1972 – 1974 feelings ran strong on both sides for restoring the courthouse vs building new. One community leader, Cecil J. Porter favored a new building and decided on a path to prove that old courthouses, like Marshall County’s, were a “dime a dozen in Iowa!”

Porter set out to prove it by visiting all 99 counties in Iowa and taking pictures of the courthouses and courthouse squares. He and his wife drove several weekends to capture the photos to prove his point. After his forays across the State on such trips he suspended his photo tour and wrote a letter to the editor entitled, “I’ve Changed My Mind!”

Porter’s photos showed the unique qualities of our courthouse (designed and built by the same architect from Chicago as the State Capitol of Iowa during the same years 1886-1888).

His photos also showed the “new courthouses built on the public squares to replace the historic ones.”

Porter described the overwhelming sense of loss when comparing photos of the old courthouse on each town square with the new one on each town square.

Mr. Porter identified in his slideshow the keen loss of the sense of place that had been experienced in those communities after a new courthouse was built on the public squares. The courthouse squares in those towns with new courthouses were distastefully unappealing and underwhelmed the viewers of his slide show. The previous sense of grandeur was lost in those communities and replaced with something inexpensive but dull, routine, and mundane.

Should nature repeat its assault on the Marshall County Courthouse, Marshall County residents and voters deserve better than to be left with a mundane new structure that cannot fill the void from such an abrupt break with history! It is imperative that the Courthouse be fully insured for Historic Replacement Value!

——

Tom Swartz is a former Marshall County Supervisor

and State Representative. He currently serves on the

Marshall County Compensation Board.