This article first appeared in the Moscow-Pullman Daily News "Nearby History" column on March 25, 2023.
By Hayley Noble, Executive Director
The buildings all around us have stories to tell. One building that I get asked a lot about is the Latah County Courthouse. Now, among historic homes, a gothic revival church, and an art deco school, the modern-style courthouse seems a bit out of place. But as you can imagine, this was not the building that always stood there.
Constructed from 1888-1889, the original Latah County Courthouse occupied its place upon the hill, overlooking Moscow from Fifth and Adams Streets. In many early Moscow panoramas, the Courthouse sits stately next to the high school and Whitworth School (1912 Center). Built almost entirely of brick, supplied from the Taylor-Lauder Brick Company, the courthouse looked much different, utilizing the federal architectural style that was so prominent in early government buildings. The jail was built in the same building with a twelve-foot-high fence enclosing a small exercise yard. But by 1912, articles began appearing in The Daily Star-Mirror touting the horrible conditions of the jail. The county physicians, Dr. Rae, Dr. Carithers, and Mayor Clarke all mention the jail is as awful as it could be. The article even goes on to say that the jail inspection committee “admitted the horrible truth. Latah county is guilty of maintaining a jail that would put to shame the blackest dungeons of Siberian prisons.” A new jail facility, built behind the courthouse in 1927, sought to eradicate the unsanitary conditions in the original jail. Like many other late 1880s buildings, as Moscow and Latah County grew, they soon found that the original building could not accommodate all the functions of a county government.
The 1889 courthouse was razed, and a new county courthouse was built on the same lot as the original. Voters approved the $400,000 bond on April 13, 1957, and demolition began in 1958, with the dedication of the new courthouse scheduled for December 14, 1958. Designed by the well-known architecture firm Dropping, Kelly, Hosford and LaMarche, the new building sought to bring everyone under one roof, as some officials rented offices downtown. The Latah County Pioneer Association, the precursor to the Latah County Historical Society, even announced that they would receive a museum room in the new building. The dedication included important officials from the University of Idaho, music from Alfred Robinson, and Latah County Chamber of Commerce President, J.J. Holland acting as the master of ceremonies.
But by 1965, the jail building yet again needed renovations. Small remodels were completed, but in 1970 Sheriff R.C. Lang applied to the Law Enforcement Planning Commission for a grant to build a new jail. In May 1971, the grant was approved, and Latah County was slated to receive a new law enforcement center, which included a new jail. Construction of the center began on May 15, 1972, with removal of the old jail completed on July 23, 1973. In 1973 Sheriff Ed Pierson admitted that the previous jail failed to pass federal inspection and that the new facility would update the conditions and technology needed for modern incarceration to meet federal prison standards. The sixth street wing of the courthouse was renovated to connect the law enforcement center to the county offices. Utilizing the same architects, the building kept a coherent architectural design throughout the facilities. The new law enforcement center was dedicated on June 16, 1973, with speakers like Idaho Supreme Court Justice Charles Donaldson.
Yet again, Latah County expanded its footprint as the population grew. Many offices moved to the Latah County Annex on Almon street in 2016, after some were in the Eastside Marketplace or the downtown Federal Building. Currently you can find Latah County employees working at the Courthouse, Annex, Fairgrounds, or McConnell Mansion, with the majority occupying the 1958 offices or 1973 law enforcement center. And coming soon, the DMV will move to the newly acquired building at Blaine and White streets. The 1958 building persists, looming over Moscow from its perch atop Sixth street.
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