Historic Isanti County Courthouse

Historic Isanti County Courthouse. . , In 1887, the county commissioners recommended passage of an act authorizing the issuing of bonds for the purpose of building a courthouse and jail int he amount of $8,000., D. O. Anderson offered to donate the land and P.J. Lind (pictured right) was to superintend the carpenter work. He was instructed to strive to get all the room they could for the money to be expended. The building was to be a plain, substantial building without unnecessary embellishments. The total cost of the new courthouse was $6,993. The jail was built the following year., Brick veneer and a porch were added several years later, although the porch has since been removed. The prominent feature of the building is the projecting entrance pavillion {sic}, flat-topped tower with a triangular dormer on each face. The tower and steeply hipped roof of the building suggest the French Second Empire style. The paired windows are tall with stone sills, indicating an Italianate influence. The main roof is gray slate while the tower's roof is crimped tin., The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979., Isanti County officers kept their records in their offices and homes scattered across Isanti County until 1871, when the firt {sic} courthouse was built (pictured right)., The courthouse and jail, with its unsightly stockade, was condemned by the grand jury as the old courthouse had no proper protection for county records or adequate space for county officials., The basement was remodeled in 1966 at a cost of $39,793 to provide a new jail, sherriff's {sic} office, and radio and teletype room. Although numerous improvements have been made over the years, the same structure remains today and is privately owned and used for business office space., Partially funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Minnesota Sesquicentennial Grant Program