Property Record
303 IRON ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Iron County Courthouse |
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| Other Name: | Former Iron County Courthouse |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 18672 |
| Location (Address): | 303 IRON ST |
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| County: | Iron |
| City: | Hurley |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
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| Year Built: | 1893 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1975 |
| Historic Use: | courthouse |
| Architectural Style: | Queen Anne |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | L.H. RUGGLES |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Old Iron County Courthouse |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 7/26/1977 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. HIGH FIELDSTONE FOUNDATION. 5 STORY CNR CLOCK TOWER W/CRENELLATED CNR TURRETS & PYRAMIDAL ROOF. 3 STORY CNR TOWER W/DOMED ROOF OVER ROUND ARCH ARCADE. TOWERS W/RUSTICATED STONE 1ST FLRS. SEGMENTAL ARCH WINDOWS W/BRICK LINTELS W/STONE KEYSTONES. This somber county courthouse originally was to serve the Town of Vaughn as its civil offices, jail, fire station, and library. It would have become one of Wisconsin’s most impressive town halls. But before construction was complete, officials of the newly created Iron County arranged to use most of the building. The need for a town hall became moot, in any event, when Hurley incorporated as a city in 1918. Nonetheless, from its beginnings, the building, with its courtrooms and its county officials, represented law and order in a rough-and-tumble town, where miners and lumberjacks congregated to drink and carouse at the end of a week of hard work. Ruggles designed an attractive two-and-one-half-story Romanesque Revival structure. Red brick walls contrast with the Lake Superior brownstone trim. Three pavilions separated by two recessed bays compose the main facade. The focal point is a castle-like clock tower at one corner, five-stories tall, crowned by an arched belfry with crenelated bartizans. A gabled pavilion with a semicircular fanlight connects this tower to a smaller domed entry tower. Covenant/Easement: From 9/19/1993 to 9/19/1998. A 'covenant file' exists for this property. It may contain additional information such as photos, drawings and correspondence. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. |
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| Bibliographic References: | IRONWOOD DAILY GLOBE 6/29/1996. Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |