National Historic Landmark · county courthouse · Sioux City, Iowa

Woodbury County Courthouse

United States historic place in Sioux City, Iowa. Built 1918 by Purcell & Elmslie. Added to the National Register in 1973, and a National Historic Landmark.

Open to visit National Historic Landmark Built 1918 Listed 1973 Prairie School architecturePurcell & Elmslie

Photos via Wikimedia Commons · 6 in the Commons category

What it is

The Woodbury County Courthouse is located at 620 Douglas Street in Sioux City, the county seat of Woodbury County, Iowa, United States. It is regarded as "one of the finest Prairie School buildings in the United States" and has been declared a National Historic Landmark for its architecture. It is used for legal proceedings in the county.

Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The record

Property type	Building
Address	7th and Douglas Sts., Sioux City, IA
County	Woodbury County
Listed	Dec 18, 1973
Listed for	Art, Politics and government, Architecture
Level of significance	National
Reference number	73000744
Built	1918 · more from the 1910s
Architect	Purcell & Elmslie
Type of place	county courthouse
Style	Prairie School architecture
Designations	National Historic Landmark
Contributing resources	1 building
Standing	Yes

The nomination form, the document that argues why this place matters, is in the National Archives: Read the nomination ↗

Visiting

Address	7th and Douglas Sts., Sioux City, IA
Coordinates	42.4970° N, 96.4060° W · Directions ↗
Also in Sioux City	59 listed places in Sioux City →
Nearest national park unit	Missouri National Recreational River · 63 miles · on Park Atlas
Federal campgrounds nearby	Goat Island Primitive Camping 38 miles

This one you can go inside. Hours and admission change with the season; the website above has the current schedule.

At a glance

State: Iowa
County: Woodbury County
Listed: 1973
Type: Building
Landmark: Yes
Architect: Purcell & Elmslie
Built: 1918

Cell signal

Verizon: 5G (fast)
AT&T: 5G
T-Mobile: 5G (fast)

Outdoor coverage as modeled by carriers in FCC filings as of 2025-12-31. This product uses FCC APIs and/or Data but is not endorsed or certified by the FCC.

Official links

Sister site

Park Atlas

Every unit of the National Park System, with its fees, hours, alerts and campgrounds.

Open Park Atlas →

This record is built from National Park Service sources, re-read every Saturday, and Wikidata, re-read on the first Saturday of each month. Register Atlas is independent and is not affiliated with any agency, and a listing does not mean a place is open to visitors. How the data is built →

Explore

Drawings & photographs

Woodbury County Courthouse, Seventh & Douglas Streets, Sioux City, Woo

23. SOUTHEAST FRONT, FROM THE EAST

24. DETAIL, SOUTHEAST FRONT, ENTRANCE, FROM THE EAST

1. SOUTHEAST FRONT AND SOUTHWEST SIDE

2. SOUTHEAST FRONT, FROM THE EAST

3. DETAIL, SOUTHEAST FRONT, ENTRANCE, FROM THE EAST

Measured drawings and photographs from the Library of Congress. Public domain. All 6 records ↗

Map

Nearby in Woodbury County

All listings in Woodbury County →

Guidebooks to historic places and travel in Iowa

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

Archaeological Guide to Iowa
William E. Whittaker and Lynn M. Alex, 2015
Find at Bookshop.org
WPA Guide to Iowa
Federal writers' project, 2013
Find at Bookshop.org
Grant Wood's Iowa
Wende Elliott and William Rose, 2013
Find at Bookshop.org

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

When was Woodbury County Courthouse listed on the National Register?

Dec 18, 1973. It is also a National Historic Landmark, the higher of the two designations.

Source: National Park Service

When was Woodbury County Courthouse built?

1918, designed by Purcell & Elmslie, in the Prairie School architecture style.

Source: Wikidata

Can I visit Woodbury County Courthouse?

Yes. Woodbury County Courthouse is recorded as open to the public.

Source: Wikidata

Where is Woodbury County Courthouse?

7th and Douglas Sts., Sioux City, Woodbury County, Iowa. The nearest national park unit is Missouri National Recreational River, 63 miles away.

Source: Missouri National Recreational River

Are there historic photographs or drawings of Woodbury County Courthouse?

Yes. The Historic American Buildings Survey at the Library of Congress has drawings or photographs of it.

Source: Library of Congress

Where is the nomination form for Woodbury County Courthouse?

The National Archives holds the nomination form, the document that made the case for listing.

Source: National Archives

Are there campgrounds near Woodbury County Courthouse?

One federal campground is within reach, Goat Island Primitive Camping, 38 miles away.

Source: Campsite Atlas

Is there cell service at Woodbury County Courthouse?

FCC coverage maps show Verizon 5G, AT&T 5G, and T-Mobile 5G at the listed point. Coverage indoors and behind old masonry is another matter.

Source: FCC Broadband Map

Sources

Location, type and contributing counts come from the National Park Service's National Register spatial data. Listing dates come from the National Register office's spreadsheet where it carries the listing. Construction date, architect, style, photograph and encyclopedia link come from Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons, matched on reference number 73000744. Nothing here is transcribed by hand. The nomination form and photographs ↗ at NPGallery are the original nomination as filed with the National Park Service, and the form is often the best description of the place. The description under "What it is" is the opening of the Wikipedia article, CC BY-SA. Drawings and photographs are Historic American Buildings Survey records at the Library of Congress, public domain.