Franklin County Courthouse

Built in 1891 (Romanesque Revival architecture). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

From the record

“The Franklin County Courthouse in Hampton, Iowa, United States was built in 1891. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 as a part of the County Courthouses in Iowa Thematic Resource.”
Wikipedia article Franklin County Courthouse (Iowa), CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 12 National Register listings published here for Franklin County · listed in 1976 · category: Building · built in 1891, Romanesque Revival architecture, by Terril Diener Allen.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
Address. Central Ave. and 1st St., NW, Hampton, 50441
When was it listed? August 1976
Category. building
Also known as. County Courthouses in Iowa TR (AD); County Courthouses in Iowa TR
City. Hampton city
When was it built? 1891
Architectural style. Romanesque Revival architecture
Architect. Terril Diener Allen
National Register reference number. 76000772 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

4 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Franklin County Courthouse between 2006 and 2012, burning about 8 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	3
Debris and open burning	1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
20 September 2011	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1.0 acres	Iowa Department of Natural Resources	HWY 3 AND 122 SOUTH 1 MILE AND 1/4 MILE UNIT, IA
1 November 2012	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Iowa Department of Natural Resources	not named
31 October 2006	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	5.0 acres	Iowa Department of Natural Resources	not named
20 October 2011	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	2.0 acres	Iowa Department of Natural Resources	OLIVE AVE AND 110TH ST SOUTH OF HAMPTON, IA, IA

Every fire recorded in Franklin County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 13 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 13 workings within 5 miles of Franklin County Courthouse: 7 past producers, 6 producers. 6 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status
Geneva Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
Heitland Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Hibness Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Unknown	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
Unknown	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
Geneva Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Harold Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Heuberger Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Franklin County

Storms near this property

60 of 74 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Hampton, the town this property stands in, in 74 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 32 thunderstorm wind, 25 hail, 11 heavy rain, 4 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
June 1997	Flash Flood	Hampton	$200,000	no account filed
August 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	$100,000	Winds of 60 to 65 MPH produced widespread tree damage in the town of Hampton. Numerous trees and limbs were downed through town. Many location were without power due to branches falling on power lines.
June 1998	Flood	Hampton	$100,000	no account filed
July 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	$60,000	no account filed
May 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	$50,000	Public reported traffic poles downed and roof damage. Reported via social media.
June 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	$50,000	Trained spotter reported power lines down along Highway 65 between Hampton and Sheffield. Also reported up to 12 inch diameter limbs down in Hampton.
June 1998	Flood	Hampton	$50,000	no account filed
June 1998	Flood	Hampton	$50,000	no account filed
August 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	$40,000	no account filed
April 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	$30,000	no account filed
June 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	$30,000	no account filed
June 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	$25,000	Trained spotter reported power lines down in the city.
August 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	$20,000	High winds from a thunderstorms downed 14 trees, many uprooted.
July 2003	Hail	Hampton	$20,000	no account filed
July 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	$15,000	Numerous tree limbs down. Road department had to clear the roads.
July 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	$15,000	no account filed
May 1996	Hail	Hampton	$15,000	no account filed
June 2014	Flash Flood	Hampton	$10,000	At least 6 inches of water flowing cross portions of highway 3 in the Hampton area. flooding of farm fields approaching roads and highways.
June 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	$10,000	Numerous branches down.
June 2010	Flood	Hampton	$10,000	Highway 65 was closed north of Hampton near 180th St. due to water over the road from Otter Creek.
June 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	$10,000	Tree damage was reported and corn was flattened on the west edge of Hampton near the fairgrounds.
May 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	$10,000	no account filed
August 2004	Hail	Hampton	$10,000	no account filed
April 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	$10,000	no account filed
April 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	$10,000	no account filed
July 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	$5,000	Emergency manager reported three large trees down in town and estimate 60 mph winds.
August 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	$5,000	no account filed
August 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	$5,000	no account filed
August 2004	Hail	Hampton	$5,000	no account filed
August 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	$5,000	no account filed
May 2003	Hail	Hampton	$5,000	no account filed
July 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	$5,000	no account filed
June 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	$5,000	no account filed
May 2011	Hail	Hampton	$3,000	Quarter size hail was reported southeast of Hampton.
July 2003	Hail	Hampton	$3,000	no account filed
May 1999	Hail	Hampton	$3,000	no account filed
July 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	$2,000	Public shared a picture of downed tree limbs, about 2 to 3 inches in diameter, and tents ripped apart. Wind gusts were estimated to be between 50 and 60 mph.
July 2003	Hail	Hampton	$2,000	no account filed
May 2017	Hail	Hampton	$1,000	Public reported half dollar sized hail along with tree limbs up to 6 inches in diameter broken off.
June 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	$1,000	no account filed
July 2003	Hail	Hampton	$1,000	no account filed
May 1993	Hail	Hampton	$500	no account filed
April 2025	Hail	Hampton	-	Golf ball hail occurring throughout Hampton.
April 2025	Hail	Hampton	-	Picture of numerous hailstones close to golf ball sized. Occurred over several minutes.
April 2025	Hail	Hampton	-	Report via mping.
September 2025	Hail	Hampton	-	Delayed report from mping.
August 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	-	Trees and power lines down. Time estimated by radar.
May 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	-	Public mping report of trees uprooted or snapped, roof damage.
June 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	-	Hampton AWOS reported a gust of 63 knots.
June 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	-	Hampton AWOS reported a gust of 63 knots.
June 2020	Heavy Rain	Hampton	-	Coop observer reported a 24 hour rainfall total of 2.70 inches.
June 2020	Heavy Rain	Hampton	-	Coop observer reported a 24 hour rainfall total of 2.70 inches.
June 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	-	Hampton Municipal Airport AWOS recorded an 88 mph wind gust.
August 2018	Heavy Rain	Hampton	-	Coop observer recorded heavy rainfall of 2.17 inches over the last 24 hours.
June 2018	Heavy Rain	Hampton	-	Coop observer recorded heavy rainfall of 2.07 inches over the last 24 hours.
September 2018	Heavy Rain	Hampton	-	Coop observer recorded heavy rainfall of 3.70 inches over the last 24 hours.
September 2018	Heavy Rain	Hampton	-	Public reported heavy rainfall of 5.5 inches over the past 12 hours and 9.3 inches over the last 48 hours. They also reported basement flooding within their house.
May 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Hampton	-	Public reported 6 inch tree branches down and some dime to quarter sized hail, and was getting bigger at the time.
May 2017	Hail	Hampton	-	Public reported some hail slightly larger than quarters.
May 2017	Hail	Hampton	-	KLMJ/KQCR-FM radio in Hampton reported quarter sized hail.

Every storm recorded in Franklin County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Property	Distance	Listed
Hampton Double Square Historic District	under 500 feet	2003
Franklin County G. A. R. Soldiers' Memorial Hall	0.1 miles	1991
Franklin County Sheriff's Residence and Jail	0.1 miles	1996
H. E. Boehmler House	0.2 miles	1991
Dr. O. B. Harriman House	0.6 miles	1987
Beeds Lake State Park, Civilian Conservation Corps Area	2.7 miles	1990

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 76000772 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Franklin County	All 12 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.