Watonwan County Courthouse
History
When Watonwan County was initially created in 1860, the city of Madelia was designated the county seat and a courthouse was built there around 1861. As St. James—a more centrally located community and a division headquarters for the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway—grew, a heated battle for county seat status erupted between the two cities. When the original wood-frame courthouse burned down in 1872, Madelia officials hastily leased space in a recently completed commercial building—Flanders' Block—to avoid losing county seat status. However St. James interests petitioned for a vote on the matter and in 1874 voters approved the move. The first courthouse in St. James was a wood-frame structure built on land donated by the railroad. A new courthouse, the present building, was designed by Mankato architect H.C. Gerlach and built by Mankato contractor Otto Kleinschmidt from 1895 to 1896. The building served as a show of government strength and traditional values in a city that was only 25 years old. It is monumental in size and design, and a county-wide survey of historic properties identified it as one of the most architecturally significant Victorian buildings in the county.
See also
- List of county courthouses in Minnesota
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Watonwan County, Minnesota
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "Watonwan County Courthouse". Minnesota National Register Properties Database. Minnesota Historical Society. 2009. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
- ^ Granger, Susan (February 1986). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Watonwan County Courthouse". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-02-12.
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(help) - ^ "Watonwan County Courthouse History". Minnesota Judicial Branch. Retrieved 2016-02-12.