Edina's double square gives Knox County a courthouse-and-town story

Edina is the courthouse town for Knox County. The county’s official site points people to the Knox County Courthouse at 107 N. 4th Street, and the Missouri Association of Counties lists many county offices at that same courthouse address. That makes Edina the practical stop for records, tax offices, court offices, commission business, and other county questions.

What makes Edina stand out is the double square. The National Register file for the Edina Double Square Historic District says downtown Edina is centered around two public squares. One is the courthouse square. The other holds the old public school setting, with a pavilion, bandstand, and water tower. The district runs along East Lafayette and Main streets, with many buildings dating from about 1865 to 1945.

The courthouse itself adds another layer. The National Register file says the Knox County Courthouse was built in 1934-1935 with Public Works Administration help, designed by William B. Ittner, and built after the county had gone without a courthouse since an 1885 Christmas Eve fire. County offices used rented rooms in commercial buildings until the new courthouse was built.

That is the kind of detail that helps a small county page feel alive. Edina is not only “the place with the courthouse.” It is a town where county government, old storefronts, school memory, and New Deal-era public building work all sit close enough to read on foot. Check the current county office page before a trip, then use the historic-district source if you want to understand why downtown is laid out the way it is.