The first court of Keokuk County convened in Sigourney on July 1, 1844, with Judge Joseph Williams presiding in a log cabin 12 feet by 16 feet built by S. A. James, Clerk of the District Court, on the south side of the Public Square on Lot 4 of Block 4. The first Keokuk County court house was built in Sigourney during 1844-1845 as a 20-foot by 24-foot log building on the north side of the Public Square on Lot 5 of Block 5.