The legislature of 1855 (often referred to as the bogus legislature) approved the creation of Butler County. As one of the original 33 counties of Kansas, Butler County covered 900 square miles.
The boundaries of the county would change five times over the course of history.
Butler County’s name came from Andrew Pickens Butler, a senator from South Carolina, who voted for the Kansas/ Nebraska bill and was a proslavery advocate. Chelsea (currently Chelsea Township in Northeast Butler County) was named as the county seat of Butler County by a common consent of the settlers.
On May 21, 1864, an election was held and El Dorado was selected as the county seat. The County Commissioners refused to move to El Dorado because there was no building available for meetings. The county seats of the early days were essentially on wheels, meaning the meetings were held in various locations; therefore the county seat was immaterial.
The first courthouse in Butler County was erected in 1867 and was actually a log cabin that would be utilized until a new structure could be built. Prior to 1867, county activities took place at individual homes in first, Chelsea and then El Dorado.
On Oct. 10, 1870, a contract was entered into to build a temporary county building, including a courthouse and jail at a cost of $6,000. The building was to be 25x50 feet and two stories high on the northeast corner of the existing courthouse property. The new building was completed and occupied in April 1871. The new building replaced the original log courthouse, which was sold at the time.
In 1875, citizens petitioned for a third courthouse, and the following year a wing was added on the west side at a cost of $8,000. In later years the building was considered insecure, so in 1890, offices were moved to the City building in the old Methodist church.
In 1895 bids were awarded for repair and addition to the rear of the courthouse building for the sum of $4,840. The building was used, rather unsatisfactorily, until about 1907. The building was razed in 1909 with the completion of the existing courthouse. Stones from the building were sold to Robert H. Hazlett who used them to build his new home at 121 S. Washington St. in El Dorado.
The cornerstone bearing the date 1895 can still be seen on the corner of a garage in the first block of South Washington Street.
On May 17, 1907, a petition was presented to the board of County Commissioners and signed by 2,060 resident tax payers requesting the board construct and erect a courthouse and jail at the county seat of El Dorado, the cost to be not less than $50,000 and not to exceed $60,000. The petition was approved by the Board of County Commissioners. George P. Washburn & Sons, of Ottawa, were employed as architects, and plans were adopted in July, 1908. Bids were then solicited, and Mathein & Walter, of St. Joseph, Mo., was awarded the contract for the building for $60,000 on Aug. 5, 1908. Work commenced early in September 1908, and the building was completed and accepted Sept. 10, 1909. Commissioners took possession in October 1909. When the grounds were completed, walks built and all work finished, the building cost about $100,000.
The corner stone for Butler County’s new courthouse building was laid on Dec. 3, 1908 during a Masonic ceremony. A metal box was placed in the corner stone. This box contained copies of the city’s newspapers, name cards of those involved in the building of the courthouse, a Masonic directory and other articles.
In 1916, the county constructed a brick building located on the southwest corner of the property to house prisoners, the sheriff’s offices and sheriff’s living quarters. The building consisted of a basement, which was used for storage, and a utility room for laundering and dish washing. The heating plant was also located in the basement. The building had two floors with two cell blocks on the first floor and four cell blocks on the second floor. In addition to the cell blocks on the second floor, the western wing of the second floor contained the sheriff’s living quarters. The sheriff’s offices and kitchen were all located on the western wing of the first floor. This building served as the jail for Butler County until a new facility was built in 1970.
Not many changes were made on the existing courthouse until the late 1940s when the County Commission had the existing elevator installed in the east portion of the courthouse. They removed the granite stairs and replaced them with a smaller metal stairway, which still exists. In 1955, major renovations again took place in the courthouse with the addition of a floor covering the courtroom and essentially eliminating the courtroom balcony located on the third floor. The newly added floor allowed for the expansion of office space on the fourth floor of the courthouse.
In 1970, in order to accommodate the growing space needs of the courthouse, the east annex was constructed. The new annex building was 31,000 square feet and would accommodate the district court and sheriff offices along with a new county jail. After completion of the new facility, the jail located on the southwest corner of the property was razed.
In 2000, the County Commission approved bonds in the amount of $27 million for the construction of a new jail east of El Dorado, and new judicial center across from the east annex in El Dorado.
Additionally, a public safety facility in was constructed in Augusta from these bond funds as well.
The Judicial Center would be 60,000 square feet at a cost of approximately $10 million and the jail would cost approximately $14 million and have a capacity of 210 inmates.
On April 26, 2002 the National Parks Program recognized the Butler County Courthouse as part of the National Register of Historic Places. It is one of 14 properties listed on the National Register in Butler County.
In 2004, the County Commission decided it would be in the best interest of the county to remodel the existing east annex vacated by the district court. In lieu of demolishing the facility and building additional office space, the Board of County Commissioners determined they could save taxpayers $2 million by opting to remodel the east annex, and ultimately approved a contract with Compton Construction for $2.4 million.
In 2006, the courthouse went through a major restoration at a cost of $450,000, which included refurbishing the clay tile roof, tuck and point work to the exterior and modifications to the clock.
The project, which was long overdue, received the majority of its funding through a historical preservation grant and income tax credits. Currently, the courthouse is going through its latest restoration with the replacement of the stone steps at the front entrance on Central Avenue.
El Dorado, Kan. —
