National Register of Historic Places (Listed, 2015), Following a contentious battle for the county seat, the 1917 Jefferson County Courthouse, known to locals as “the Old Courthouse,” was constructed as the Madras City Hall, but housed the county offices and court from 1917 until 1961 when the current courthouse was built a block away. The small concrete Jailhouse remained the only facility for holding prisoners during the same time. The Courthouse was constructed during a period of relative prosperity in Jefferson County and Madras specifically, which had grown steadily since the early-twentieth century with the establishment of dry-land farms throughout the area under the Homestead Act. Winning the county seat secured Madras’ position as the county’s economic and political center, encouraging further growth and development. In 1934, the United States Resettlement Administration, a Depression-era aid program, began buying failed farms throughout the county signaling an important shift in governance as the once profitable agricultural land surrounding Madras transferred from private ownership subject to county governance to pubic grazing lands under federal stewardship. (Source: Oregon State Historic Preservation Office)
