Virtual Tour

Ottumwa's Central Park is the civic center of the community. This green space is ringed by four large stone buildings: the Wapello County Courthouse, the Ottumwa Public Library, the Ottumwa City Hall (originally the Post Office and Federal Building), and St. Mary of the Visitation Church. While it would be nice to be able to say that this was a good example of turn of the century city planning, the arrangement of these buildings around the park happened purely by accident.

In 1855 the county courthouse was built at the corner of Court and Fourth streets and in 1889 a new post office (federal building) was constructed on the east side of the park at the corner of Court and Third streets. When the 1855 courthouse was about to be replaced, there was discussion of moving it closer to the business district, and one local businessman had a lot at the corner of Second and Green Streets that he offered to sell the county. However, it was noted that the county already owned the land at the corner of Court and Fourth streets, and it would be less expensive to build on these lots. So the new courthouse was built on that site in 1892-93.

In 1901, when the decision was make to construct a free public library, there was again much discussion on the location. The same businessman again tried to sell his lot at the corner of Green and Second streets for the new building, but it was decided to place it on the west side of Central Park, not to create a group of civic buildings, but because the lots were cheaper.

In 1910 the decision was made by the federal government to replace the red brick federal building with one that was larger and more impressive. This three-story limestone building was constructed on the site of the old one, but it is larger and fills the lots on the east side of the park from Third to Fourth streets.

The original St. Mary of the Visitation was a small stone church built in 1860 across the street from the courthouse. By the late 1920's a much larger church was needed, and the parish replaced that small stone structure with a magnificent stone church on the same site.

Thus, the four buildings that ring the park today were put in place. Take a virtual tour of each:

• Wapello County Courthouse
• Ottumwa Public Library
• Ottumwa City Hall
• St. Mary of the Visitation