Marion County Courthouse

The present Marion County Courthouse was constructed in 1905 and is in the center of Columbia. Masons of St. Alban's Lodge laid the cornerstones of the Courthouse and of the first brick Columbia High School on the same day in 1905. Previous to 1905, the original wood frame courthouse, dating back to territorial days when Columbia was known as "Lott's Bluff," stood on roughly the same spot. It was this courthouse that was the scene of such notorious events as the Will Purvis hanging, and was also plundered by the Union Army during the winter of 1864.