Scott County was established in 1837 by the legislature of the
Wisconsin Territory. Until this time the area had been a part of
Des Moines County. The first court sessions in the county were held in
St. Anthony's Catholic Church. The juries met in a room that was made available by
George Davenport.
County Seat election Davenport and
Rockingham, a town a mile south on the
Mississippi River, contended for the county seat. An election was held in February 1838. Because the population base at the time was in the southern part of the county, Rockingham was favored. Davenport's promoters paid $3,000 in whiskey and bribes to miners from
Dubuque, Iowa to vote for Davenport, which won the election. Both towns' promoters defrauded the ballot box this time. Laborers were imported to work in the mills at least 60 days before the election and Illinois citizens were invited to vote. When the county commissioners purged the polls after the election Davenport won by two votes. Rockingham again protested and the legislature of the
Iowa Territory, of which Scott County had become a part of in 1838, set a new election for the summer of 1840. The third election had four jurisdictions vying for the county seat. Besides Davenport and Rockingham the geographical center of the county, or "Sloperville," entered the race as did Winfield, a town along the Mississippi near the mouth of
Duck Creek. Sloperville dropped out early. The other three jurisdictions made offers of land, buildings, and cash. Winfield offered of land and $100 in labor and materials. Rockingham made an offer to build the courthouse and jail. Davenport's promoters, especially
Antoine LeClaire and
George Davenport, promised to build a courthouse and jail free of charge. The election results were celebrated in Davenport with bonfires, fireworks, and speeches. Rockingham was later annexed into the city of Davenport, and Winfield is now part of
Bettendorf.
1842 courthouse The county's first courthouse was a
Greek Revival style building built in 1842. It was a two-story structure that featured stately columns and a round
cupola. The building was located on Bolivar Square, one of the four public squares laid out by Antoine LeClaire when he plotted the town in 1836.
1886 courthouse As the county grew a larger courthouse was needed and an ornate
Beaux Arts structure was built in 1886. It was designed by former Davenport architect
John C. Cochrane. The building was constructed of
Bedford stone by Lang & Moody. It measured and rose three stories above a raised basement. The east side of the third floor housed the James Grant Law Library, which was owned by the Scott County Bar Association. The courthouse was built at a cost of $125,000. The courthouse, however, was built on sandy soil and slowly sank. The large vault, which had been built on the ground floor, dropped below ground level. A stairway was constructed down into the vault. Around 1930
termites began to eat away at the wood beams that supported the structure. The building continued to sink into the sandy soil it was built on, which necessitated costly repairs. To help alleviate the weight of the building the dome was removed in 1932. The courthouse continued to sink so the tower wall was torn down the following year. This time 450 tons of brick, which had supported the dome, were removed. The various county offices moved into rented space in the downtown area.
1956 courthouse The present courthouse was built from 1955 to 1956 at a cost of $1,480,000. Court related offices were moved into newly renovated areas during the project. In 2004 a bond referendum was passed by county voters to expand the size of the jail. The $29.7 million expansion was opened in 2007 and expanded the courthouse and jail complex with a addition. The new entrance pavilion provided security screening to the entire courthouse for the first time. In 2010 the county board of supervisors approved a $176,000 plan to renovate the courthouse's 11 court rooms. Renovations include electrical wiring, technology upgrades, painting, replacing carpet and ceiling tiles and asbestos removal. The Scott County Administrative Center was built as a warehouse for a transfer company in the 1930s. It was acquired by the county in 1974, and the first sections of the building were occupied by the county in 1976. The building was called the Bicentennial Building for 27 years. It was extensively renovated with the addition of the sixth floor. That project was completed in 2003. The building houses both county and state offices. ==Architecture==