Appanoose County Courthouse

St. Louis Trip, Day 8, Friday, July 31, 2015

Court in Centerville, Iowa (the Appanoose County seat) was first held in a building that was also used as a blacksmith's shop and storeroom.  In 1848 the first real courthouse (measuring 24 by 20 feet) was built for $119.  

When this proved too small, court was held at the local churches until a two-story brick building was constructed for $23,000.  

First Methodist Church in Centerville, IA

St. Louis Trip, Day 8, Friday, July 31, 2015

It's not everywhere you go that traffic will slow down and wait for some random blogger standing on the sidewalk across the street to get a photo of the local church.  But...that's just what one car did for me in Centerville, Iowa!

Centerville was one of our last stops on our way home from St. Louis last year.  We noticed this Methodist church down the street from the courthouse, and knocked on the door of the parsonage.