Oregon Historic Sites Database

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Oregon Historic Sites Database

address:34 SE D St historic name:Jefferson County Courthouse
Madras, Jefferson County current/other names:The Old Courthouse
assoc addresses:
block/lot/tax lot:
location descr:NW corner of 6th and D Streets twnshp/rng/sect/qtr sect:11S 13E 12
resource type:Building height (stories):2.0 total elig resources:2 total inelig resources:0
elig evaluation: eligible/significant NR Status: Individually Listed
prim constr date:1917 second date: date indiv listed:09/17/2015
primary orig use: Courthouse orig use comments:
second orig use: Correctional Institute
primary style: Late 19th/20th Period Revivals: Other prim style comments:
secondary style: sec style comments:
primary siding: Brick:Other/Undefined siding comments:
secondary siding:
plan type: 1-Part Block architect:O.G. Brubaker
builder:Guy Herman Wilson
comments/notes:
Contributing Jefferson County Jail on same property, but has separate record in database. HRR completed 1/28/2014.
Not associated with any surveys or groupings.
Farmstead/Cluster Name:Jefferson County Courthouse
NR date listed: 09/17/2015
ILS survey date:
RLS survey date:
Gen file date: 01/28/2014
106 Project(s): None
Special Assess Project(s): None
Federal Tax Project(s): None
(Includes expanded description of the building/property, setting, significant landscape features, outbuildings and alterations)
The 1917 Jefferson County Courthouse, known locally as “the Old Courthouse,” is located in the central Oregon town of Madras, Jefferson County, at 34 SE D Street. The two-story, red-brick building has a largely rectangular footprint measuring roughly 42’x 62’. The brick exterior is laid in an English-bond pattern, with a header course alternating with a stretcher course at every sixth course. The Classical Revival decorative elements are somewhat restrained and are found mostly on the main facade. The brick quoins on the building corners, symmetrical fenestration pattern, stepped-parapet wall, and deeply-recessed arched entryway are the strongest decorative features. The interior is a 5,208 square-foot space consisting of two main floors and a raised partial basement. The first floor was remodeled sometime after 1961 for use as office space. The second floor housed the original courtroom and two offices to either side of the staircase and retains most of the original fabric from the building’s construction. The contributing 1918 Jefferson County Jailhouse is located just 40’ to the north (rear) of the Courthouse and functioned as a jail until 1961. It is a simple, one-story building constructed of thick board-formed concrete walls with a vaulted concrete roof. Measuring only 20’x20’, the building contains two jail cells, a wood stove, and a toilet. Both the Courthouse and the contributing Jailhouse are in their original location and retain sufficient integrity of design, materials, and workmanship to convey their historic significance under Criterion A.
(Chronological, descriptive history of the property from its construction through at least the historic period - preferably to the present)
The 1917 Jefferson County Courthouse, known to locals as “the Old Courthouse,” is locally significant under Criterion A in the area of Government. Following a contentious battle for the county seat the Courthouse was constructed as the Madras City Hall, but housed the county offices and court from 1917 until 1961 when the current courthouse was built a block away. The Jailhouse remained the only facility for holding prisoners during the same time. The Courthouse was constructed during a period of relative prosperity in Jefferson County and Madras specifically, which had grown steadily since the early-twentieth century with the establishment of dry-land farms throughout the area under the Homestead Act. Winning the county seat secured Madras’ position as the county’s economic and political center, encouraging further growth and development. Together, the Courthouse and contributing Jailhouse are symbols of the regional development of Jefferson County and Madras as the county seat. The period of significance begins with the building’s construction in 1917 and ends in 1934 when the United States Resettlement Administration, a Depression-era aid program, began buying failed farms throughout the county signaling an important shift in governance as the once profitable agricultural land surrounding Madras transferred from private ownership subject to county governance to pubic grazing lands under federal stewardship.
Title Records Census Records Property Tax Records Local Histories
Sanborn Maps Biographical Sources SHPO Files Interviews
Obituaries Newspapers State Archives Historic Photographs
City Directories Building Permits State Library
Local Library: University Library:
Historical Society:Jefferson County Other Respository:
Bibliography:
The passages describing the establishment of Jefferson County, founding of Madras, and the construction and use of the Jefferson County Courthouse are primarily based on contemporary newspaper articles. Minutes of City Council meetings and county court proceedings, among other records, are substantially incomplete or were unavailable at the time this document was written. The discussion presented here uses a variety of resources to construct the most plausible narrative; however, future research may provide additional insights into this chapter of Jefferson County’s history. Bibliography Primary Bend Bulletin. Bend, OR. Various Dates. Beckham, Stephen Dow. State of Oregon Inventory, Historic Sites and Buildings “Jefferson County Jail.” Salem, OR: Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, 6 August 1976. Bureau of Municipal Research and Service. “Population of Oregon Cities, Counties and Metropolitan Areas 1850 to 1957.” Eugene: University of Oregon, April 1958. “Contract for Jail- Jefferson County and Barnum Iron Works.” Jefferson County, 1915. Deschutes Valley Tribune. Culver, OR. Various Dates. Jackson, Ed. “Madras Hauls Away County Courthouse.” Bend Bulletin, 5 January 1917, Accessed 10 May 2014. Jansen, Steve. Interview by author, 21 April 2014. “Lease Agreement – City of Madras and Jefferson County.” Jefferson County, 1919. R.L. Polk & Co. Jefferson County Directory, 1921. Madras Pioneer. Madras, OR. Various Dates. Sanborn Map Company, Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, Madras, Oregon, 1913, 1928, and 1931. “Warranty Deed Document—City of Madras and County of Jefferson.” Jefferson County, 1925. Woodbeck’s Directory Co. Deschutes, Crook, and Jefferson Counties, 1917. Secondary Clark, Keith and Michael Hall. National Register Nomination for the “Bend Amateur Athletic Club Gymnasium.” Washington DC: National Park Service, 1983. Evans, Gail E.H. National Register of Historic Places Nomination for the “Lueddemann, Max and Ollie, House.” Washington DC: National Park Service, 1996. Hammer, Scott. “Renovations Underway at Historic Madras Courthouse.”Bend Bulletin, 22 March 2014, accessed 10 April 2014 . Jefferson County Historical Society. History of Jefferson County, Oregon 1914-1983. Portland: Taylor Publishing Co., 1984. Many Hands, editor. Jefferson County Reminiscences. Portland: Binfords and Mort., 1957. McFarland, Janine. Multiple Property Document “Settlement and Abandonment of the Crooked River National Grassland in Jefferson County, OR, 1868-1937. Washington, DC: National Park Service, 2015. Tonsfeldt, Ward, and Paul C. Claeyssens. “Subtopic : Pre-Industrial Period: 1870-1910: Pre-Industrial Communities: Madras.” Oregon History Project, 2004. Accessed 14 June 2014 < http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/narratives/subtopic.cfm?subtopic_ID=391>. Thomas Vaughn, editor. Space, Style, and Structure: Building in Northwest America. Portland: Oregon Historical Society, 1974.