The Historic

Harrisonville Square

The Harrisonville Courthouse Square Historic District

consists of four full blocks of commercial buildings facing the courthouse square and portions of file additional city blocks just off the square.  Historically, the district was the commercial center of the town and possibly, the county.  The vigorous commercial activity represented by these buildings focused on the square.

Cass County Courthouse

The three-story, Italian Renaissance style building of buff brick is the third county courthouse.  The first was a two-room frame building on West Wall.   The second courthouse was a two-story brick, square building which sat where the present day courthouse now stands.  It was used from 1844 to 1896.  The Union Cavalry used it to stable horses in the Civil War. 

The west side has the oldest extant buildings on the square.  116 S. Independence was built in 1880 by the Deacon brothers as a hardware and implement store.  The other buildings were all standing by 1887.  The Kunze family operated a jewelry store at 100 S. Independence from 1857 to 1957.

The entire south side was destroyed by a fire in 1900.  It was immediately rebuilt by 1901.  A white stone building at 113 E. Wall was built to house the Bank of Harrisonville.  Its façade has changed the least of any structure in the historic district.  In 1922, Will T. Price opened a jewelry store here and remained a jewelry store under various owners until 1982. 

The north side is the most changed.  In 1983, the three-story Hotel Harrisonville which was built in 1883, burned.  A hotel had stood on this site since the 1840s.  The present Allen Bank building, built in 1959, replaced two older structures.  A drugstore had stood on this corner since the mid 1800s, and Allen Bank has been on the square since 1868

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The east side is anchored on both ends by two buildings important to Harrisonville history.  At the north end of S. Lexington was Parson & Bros. Hardware from 1881 to 1909.  P.K. Glenn drugstore served the community here from 1909 until 1987.   At the south end of S. Lexington is the three-story Deacon building, built in 1892.   It served as the county courtrooms while the new courthouse was being built in 1896.  Deacon Hardware operated here from 1918 until 1969.