Big Stone County Courthouse

National Register of Historic Places

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 15, 2018

1. Big Stone County Courthouse Marker

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From the National Register Nomination prepared by Susan Granger, 6/1984:
The Big Stone County Courthouse is historically and architecturally significant as one of Minnesota's diminishing number of monumental Victorian courthouses, as the largest Victorian building standing in Big Stone County, as an example of the work of successful Minneapolis architect Fremont D. Orff,

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 15, 2018

2. Big Stone County Courthouse Marker

The marker is on the left side of the main courthouse entrance.

and as the building which has served as the seat of government in Big Stone County since the turn of the century.

Big Stone County, located at the South Dakota border along the shores of Big Stone Lake, was established by the Minnesota legislature in 1862. In 1874 a county government was formed, but its authority was later challenged, and it was not until 1881 that the county government was legally established. Voters formally approved Ortonville as the county seat in the spring of 1881. County officials conducted business from their homes until October of 1882 when a $3,500 wood frame courthouse and jail building were completed. On October 31, 1885, the building was destroyed by fire but, fortunately, legal records were protected in a fireproof vault which had been installed in the building three months earlier. In the spring of 1886, a new wood frame courthouse was completed on the same site. In 1895 the county expanded its facilities by constructing a granite jail building at Jackson Avenue and Third Street, just east of the site of the present courthouse.

In 1901 plans to replace the modest 1886 courthouse resulted in a decision to construct a new brick courthouse adjacent to the jail. Voters approved a $30,000 bond issue in July of 1901 and the contract for construction was awarded two months later to the low bidder, Ole H. Olsen of Stillwater. Architect for the project was Fremont D. Orff of Minneapolis. The new courthouse was completed during the summer of 1902. Since then, the building has housed all facets of Big Stone County government.

The courthouse was originally designed to house county offices on the first floor, a courtroom, jury and witness rooms, judges' chambers, and the county attorney's office on the second floor, and vaults, storage rooms, restrooms, offices, and the heating plant in the basement. This arrangement of rooms has changed very little. The interior of the building retains maple flooring, oak woodwork and original furnishings, brass fixtures, and a large oak staircase with turned balusters. The second story courtroom has original oak furniture, plaster medallions on the ceiling, and Art Deco light fixtures.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 15, 2018

3. Big Stone County Courthouse Cornerstone

R.B. Hudson
J.F. Rothwell • R.A. Conforth
A.J. Anderson • P. Clarke
County Commissioners.

F.D. Orff, Architect
O.H. Olsen, Builder

Excerpt:  The building is faced with light brown brick and is accented with Ortonville granite trim. During a 1983-1984 study, the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office surveyed seven counties in west central Minnesota and noted that the courthouse was the largest turn-of-the-century building in Big Stone County and one of its best examples of large-scale Victorian architecture.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 15, 2018

4. Big Stone County Courthouse (southwest/front elevation)

From the National Register Nomination:  The building has a restrained, symmetrical design and is faced with light brown pressed brick with rock faced Ortonville granite trim. The courthouse has a slate-covered hipped roof with projecting gables on the north, west, and south facades. The five-bay main facade is dominated by a slightly projecting, central two-story entrance bay containing the main entrance set within a large rock faced granite arch. The arch is topped by granite modillions, a smooth granite name and date panel, and a trio of narrow rectangular window openings with rock faced granite sills, lintels, and keystones, and a heavy galvanized iron cornice with modillions.