Van Buren Riverfront Park
Van Buren's own river park at the foot of Main Street: a concrete boat ramp and canoe launch on the Current River, a picnic shelter, and swimming areas on one acre, open 4 AM to 10 PM.
Carter County Courthouse
Missouri's only cobblestone-covered courthouse, built in 1871 and reclad by the WPA in 1936, stands vacant on its Main Street square in Van Buren, still the town's gathering ground for tree lightings and the Festival of Lights.
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From the sidewalk, the Carter County Courthouse looks like no other courthouse in Missouri, because it is: its National Register nomination describes it as the only cobblestone-covered courthouse in the state. Peter Ake built the two-story courthouse in 1871, and in 1936 a Works Progress Administration crew added an east addition and reclad the whole building in native cobblestone, inside the low stone wall that still encloses the square.
The building itself is closed. The record Current River flood of 2017 damaged it, the county moved out for good, and the nomination lists its present function as vacant and not in use. What a visitor gets is the exterior and the grounds: the cobblestone walls, the square, and the pavilion, at 105 Main Street in the middle of town.
Vacant is not the same as forgotten. The Friends of the Carter County Courthouse, the nonprofit that partners with the county commission still owning the building, describes the courthouse as remaining the center of the community, and the grounds still gather the town for Christmas tree lightings, Easter egg hunts, and the annual Festival of Lights; the Chamber's Christmas on the Current celebration kicks off in the courtyard. The courthouse joined the National Register of Historic Places in October 2022.
Good to know before you go
- Fees
- No fee is stated by the official source for visiting the grounds (recorded as unknown).
- Hours and seasons
- No visiting hours are stated by any official source. The building's interior is closed: the county vacated it permanently after damage in the 2017 flood, and county offices now sit at 1122 Main Street. The grounds function as the town square and host public events through the year.
- Parking
- Street parking on Main Street in downtown Van Buren. The courthouse stands at 105 Main Street, a short walk from the Highway 60 bridge and the riverfront.
- Accessibility
- No accessibility statement is published for the grounds. The building's interior is closed.
- Nearest town
- Van Buren, Missouri
- Coordinates
- 36.9950505, -91.0144279
What you can do there
- Cobblestone courthouse exterior, built 1871 and reclad in 1936
- Courthouse square and grounds
- Pavilion in the grounds
- National Register of Historic Places listing, 2022
- Festival of Lights and community events on the grounds
Best for
Filed under
Nearby places
Watercress Recreation Area
The Forest Service's in-town Current River access: a double-lane concrete boat launch, five picnic sites, and concrete stair entries down to a river beach, a half mile from downtown Van Buren.
Songbird Trail
A half-mile Forest Service loop inside Watercress Recreation Area: past Watercress Spring, up a hillside to Civil War earthworks overlooking the Current River, and by a small cave in a rocky bank.
Big Spring Campground
The Park Service's main campground in the Big Spring area: 123 reservable sites on the Current River, a boat ramp, electric hookups in one loop, and Big Spring itself within walking distance.