The Franklin County Courthouse in Hampton, Iowa, United States was built in 1891. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 as a part of the County Courthouses in Iowa Thematic Resource. The courthouse is the third facility to house court functions and county administration.HistoryInitially, Franklin County business was enacted in the home of Judge James B. Reeve. County commissioners selected a place called Jefferson as the county seat in deference to Judge Reeve who was from Jefferson, Ohio. However, one county commissioner disagreed with the proposal and Hampton became the county seat. Commissioners constructed a frame building in 1857 to serve as the first courthouse. They later sold it to a church, which used it as a home and stable. County records were kept at a school until a new courthouse built of stone was constructed in the middle of the square. It measured 48x and cost $12,500. The present Romanesque Revival building, by architect T. D. Allen, was completed in 1891 at a cost of $60,000.
