Chase County Courthouse

A Kansas Portrait

In the town of Cottonwood Falls in Chase County courthouse stands in dignity at the head of Broadway as it has for more than one hundred years. Begun in 1871 and completed in 1873, this venerable building is the oldest county courthouse still in use in the state of Kansas.

The Chase County courthouse is the state's finest remaining example of the architectural style known as Second Empire, which is characterized by the distinctive shape of the roof. There were once several other Second Empire style courthouses in Kansas. One of these was the old Greenwood County courthouse in Eureka, a virtual twin to the Chase County courthouse which was built at the same time but was demolished in the 1950s.

Both of these buildings were designed by noted Kansas architect John G. Haskell of Lawrence. Born in Vermont, Haskell came to Kansas in 1857 at the age of 25 and soon rose to prominence as one of the leading architects of Kansas. He was the first architect of the Kansas statehouse and designed many other important early Kansas buildings, especially in Lawrence and Topeka. He died in 1907 at the age of 75.