 The 1869 courthouse survived until 1899 when it was found to be structurally unsound; it was closed and demolished.After passage of a bond issue, construction on the current Bates county courthouse began in 1901.The eighty-by-one hundred five foot Romanesque-style structure was built of "Carthage stone" from southern Missouri at a total project cost of $50,000 and was occupied in July, 1902.