During the Great Depression, the federal government assisted financially in the construction of the Neosho City Hall and Municipal Auditorium, as well as the current Newton County Courthouse. Funded by the Works Progress Administration, the original courthouse was razed in December 1935 to make way for the current Carthage stone, Art Deco-style courthouse, which was designed by architect Neal C. Davis, a Newton County native. Construction of the new courthouse began in April 1936. In 1938, another Davis-designed, WPA-funded project, the Auditorium and City Hall, was completed. This building was extensively restored and modernized in a multi-million project completed in September 2008.