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Below is listed in chronological order of photos (going
back in time) and a brief description of Wisconsin County
Courthouses that has graced the main page of this website the past months. |
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Click photo to enlarge |
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Some photos courtesy
Wisconsin Society of Land Surveyors |
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September 2008 |
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Marquette County
County Seat – Montello
Year Built – 1918
Sited on
a steep hill on the shores of Lake Montello, the Marquette
County Courthouse is a modest example of Beaux-Arts design.
Construction materials included Montello granite, Bedford
limestone, interior floors of terrazzo and walls with dark
oak trim. The original courthouse and jail, completed in
October 1916 and was replaced in 1918 with the current
courthouse on a hill. |
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August 2008 |
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Grant County
County Seat – Lancaster
Year Built – 1902
The
current Grant County courthouse, one of Wisconsin’s most
prized historic treasures, was begun in 1902. The dome,
inspired by St Peter’s Cathedral in Rome, is an octagonal
glass dome. The dome is identical to one in Oneida County.
The three-story courthouse, has brick walls, Lake Superior
brownstone trim, belt courses and window pediments. Three
types of brick were used in the exterior walls, including
red clay brick for the basement, glazed brown bricks for the
first floor and light-brown bricks for the upper stories |
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July 2008 |
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Wood County
County Seat – Wisconsin Rapids
Year Built – 1956
The
original Courthouse, built in 1881, served a population of
2,425. The County Board passed a resolution in 1954
authorizing bonding for $1,000,000 to build the present
courthouse and jail, which was completed in 1956. Indiana
limestone was used throughout the building. In 1976, the
County Board approved a $500,000 addition. In 1987, a new
larger jail was necessary and the county building underwent
another face lift at a cost of $3,500,000 |
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June 2008 |
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Clark County
County Seat – Neillsville
Year Built – 1965
The
county board in 1856 paid $300 to James O’Neill for land and
levied $2,000 for a courthouse. The building was two
stories, painted white and had a moderate-sized courtroom
and one jury room. A jail was built in 1866 for $1,300 of
oak planks. It was replaced in 1882 and the county’s third
jail, which survives, was completed in 1897. The second
courthouse, was built in 1876 at a cost of $35,000. The
third and present day courthouse was built in 1965 at a cost
of $1 million. It is a five-level building constructed of
concrete, steel and stone. It contains four ground level
entrances, made possible by its construction on a hillside
site |
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May 2008 |
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Marathon County
County Seat – Wausau
Year Built – 1955
First
courthouse built in 1851 – a tiny building housing the
clerk’s office was built for $98.78. The second courthouse,
construct in Greek Revival style opened in 1868 cost $7,575;
the courthouse built in 1892 cost $74,464.59 and served the
county from 1892 to 1954. The current courthouse was built
in 1955 for $2 million. The 1988 $13,700,000 addition
included 82,000 square feet of new construction and $21,000
square feet of remodeling and reconstruction |
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April 2008 |
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Rusk
County
County Seat – Ladysmith
Year Built - 1902
A bill
to separate the new county from Chippewa County was passed
in May, 1901 – after James L. Gates, a land dealer.
However, in 1905, the name was changed to Rusk County after
a one-time governor Jeremiah Rusk because Gates had failed
to pay $10,000 he had promised to the county for naming it
after him. The county’s original 1902 courthouse
disappeared amid a series of construction phases from May
1995 through August 1997 |
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January thru March 2008 |
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Barron
County
County Seat: Barron
Year Built: 1964
The county’s first courthouse was built in April 1876, a
two-story frame building facing the creek was completed at a
cost of $2,400, which was $283 more than the county’s annual
tax levy. A jail was built in 1879. A new courthouse was
built for $38,070 in 1901. Bonds were issued in 1962 for a
new courthouse and the old was demolished. The new building
on the same site was completed by February 1964. |
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December 2007 |
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Price
County
County Seat: Phillips
Year Built: 1976
The first Price County Courthouse, a two-story frame
building with a tower, was erected in 1880. The first jail
was built in 1880 for $665 but it burned in an 1895 fire.
The second jail was built that year for $13,320. |
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November 2007 |
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Florence
County
County Seat: Florence
Year Built: 1897
After Florence County was created in 1882, land was bought
for a courthouse for $925. The solid brick was built in a
Romanesque Revival style with Wisconsin sandstone and blue
limestone trimmings. Its wide steps lead to a north entrance
and the 40-foot walls are topped by a high pitched roof with
round turrets. The cost was $13,000 plus $4,000 for a
matching jail with three cells. The Florence County
Courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic
Places in December 1984. |
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October 2007 |
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Washington Monument
The
Washington Monument is an obelisk-shaped building in
Washington, D.C. that was built to honor the first President
of the United States of America, George Washington. This
555-foot-tall obelisk is the tallest building in the
District of Columbia - by law, no other building in D.C. is
allowed to be taller |
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September 2007 |
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Rock County
County Seat: Janesville
Current courthouse – Year built 1955, 1997
Rock
County’s first courthouse and a log jail were occupied in
1842. The courthouse burned in 1859 and was rebuilt a
decade later for $124,672. In the early 1950s, the county
board was debating whether to build a new courthouse and
whether it should be in Janesville or Beloit. A new
courthouse was completed in 1955, with an addition built on
the site of the old courthouse in 1997. |
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August 2007 |
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Eau Claire County
County Seat: Eau Claire Year
Built : 1973
For 102
years until it was razed in 1975, the second courthouse
served as the focal point for the community. In 1935,
farmers were given a drought relief project of remodeling
the courthouse entrance. The courthouse annex was replaced
in 1953 and a new courthouse completed in 1973. In 1993, a
$3.6 million courthouse addition was approved. |
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July 2007 |
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White House
Planning
for a garden at the White House began with President
Washington, who expressed a desire to plant a botanical
garden. Washington purchased the land for what is now the
South lawn from a tobacco planter named Davy Burns, while
the North grounds originally belonged to the Pierce family.
As the first President to occupy the White House, John Adams
ordered the first planting of a garden. |
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June 2007 |
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Menominee County
County Seat: Keshena
Menominee
County, which includes the reservation of the Menominee
Indians, is Wisconsin’s youngest county and the only one
without a courthouse. Some court proceedings are heard in
neighboring Shawano or Marinette counties. The reservation
and tribal status were restored in 1973, although Menominee
remains a Wisconsin county. |
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May 2007 |
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Oneida County:
County Seat: Rhinelander -
Current Courthouse built in 1910
In 1908,
Christ Tegan of Manitowoc was hired to design a courthouse
that would replace the frame building that had served as the
Courthouse since 1887. A stone, concrete and metal building
was completed in 1910. It was built of gray limestone with
towering Ionic columns. It is identical in design to
courthouses in Grant and Manitowoc Counties. |
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April 2007 |
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Calumet County:
County Seat: Chilton - Current
courthouse built in 1913.
Construction of the first courthouse in Chilton wasn’t
started until 1859, twenty-three years after Calumet County
was established. The current courthouse was erected in
1913 after the 1882 courthouse was destroyed by fire. It
features a low center dome and concrete-trimmed brick
parapet. |
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March 2007 |
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Oconto County:
County Seat: Oconto - Current Courthouse built in 1891,
1907. The county’s
first courthouse burned down in 1891. Designed by Rau &
Kirsch, the second courthouse was built in the same year for
$50,000. It is described as a gabled pavilion of blonde
brick, featuring a clock tower and cupola with a statute of
Lady Justice balancing her scales on top. In 1907, fire
destroyed the upper level but it was rebuilt with a larger
cupola, additional dormers and red roof tiles. Jail Annex
was added on east side in 1960 and office wing on the west
side in 1977 |
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February 2007 |
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Langlade County -
County Seat: Antigo - Current
Courthouse Year Built: 1905 - The first courthouse, a frame
building was built in 1882. The original frame courthouse
was replaced by the current structure in 1905. Murals
feature the work of Axel E. Soderberg, a Swedish artist, who
decorated the Swedish king’s summer palace in Uppsala, and
then came to the United States. He settled in LaCrosse
where he gained a reputation as a figure painter. |
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January 2007 |
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Pierce County -
County Seat: Ellsworth - Current
Courthouse Year Built: 1905 - The current courthouse, built
on a hillside facing a commercial area, is of both
Neoclassical and Beaux arts characteristics. It features a
hexagonal dome with alternating, multipane windows, Ionic
columns and a rusticated red sandstone raised basement.
Glass globed wall sconces dressed limestone walls and marble
wainscoting highlight the interior. A three story brick
stair tower in a mauve color was added in 1970. |
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October thru December 2006 |
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Jefferson County: County
Seat: Jefferson. Current Courthouse – year built:1966.
The first courthouse, 30-foot by 40-foot, was completed in
1843 at a cost $3,000, included county offices and jury
rooms on the first floor with a courtroom on the second. A
log jail was built the same year. In 1850, a brick jail
was built and it burned down twenty-four years later. In
1861, a courthouse addition was erected. A brick, two and a
half story jail was completed in 1875. The current
courthouse was constructed in 1966 and a jail addition was
built in 1991. |
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September 2006 |
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Monroe County:
County Seat: Sparta.
Current Courthouse-Year built: 1896
The current courthouse was designed by Mifflin E. Bell
and completed in 1896. Built from red sandstone from
Superior area quarries. The historic courthouse was
refurbished in 1996. The stately three-story building was
designed in Richardson Romanesque style on a public square.
It has a hipped roof attic crowned by a square central tower
with open oriels and round turrets. |
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August 2006 |
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Green County:
County Seat: Monroe.
Current Courthouse – year built:1891
Henry Hobson Richardson was hired as the architect. The
two and a half story courthouse has a high basement, hipped
roof and four corner towers. Masonry walls are made of red
brick from Maiden Rock. The main level, 100 foot corridor
has a checkered tile floor and oak wainscoting. |
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July 2006 |
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Jackson County:
County Seat: Black River Falls
Current Courthouse – year built 1878, 1937
The county’s current courthouse was built in 1878 along
with a jail. The courthouse tower was removed in 1937 and an
addition was erected. In 1960, a new jail replaced the 1878
structure, and in 1986, the law enforcement center replaced
the 1960 jail. |
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June 2006 |
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State Capitol:
Built in 1838, the first Madison
Capitol stood for 25 years until it was replaced by a larger
building in 1863. After a devastating fire left the second
Madison Capitol badly damaged, George B. Post & Sons
designed the current Capitol, which was built between 1906
and 1917 at a cost of $7.25 million. The Madison Capitol is
distinguished as being the only State Capitol ever built on
an isthmus. -Excerpt
taken from website. |
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May 2006 |
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Lincoln County: County
officials decided to build a courthouse in 1876, two years
after Lincoln County was separated from Marathon County. A
new courthouse was begun in 1903. The courthouse, eventually
completed for $119,882, featured a rotunda 32 feet in
diameter with a balcony and second floor offices off the
balcony. A 48-inch bell and one-ton clock were mounted on a
roof tower. |
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April 2006 |
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Dane County:
Dane County’s first courthouse was finished in 1849.
The second courthouse opened in 1886 with a final price of
$180,000. The courthouse was a four-story structure of red
brick and sandstone. It was actually used for 71 years,
until the City-County Building opened in 1957. A City-County
Building addition of jails cells took place in the early
1980’s and the Public Safety Building opened in 1994. |
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March 2006 |
Waupaca County: Waupaca County was
created in 1851 and the county’s first courthouse was built
the following year at Mukwa on the eastern side. A jail was
built in 1867 for $7,725 but the county had trouble building
a courthouse due to a struggle on where to locate the county
seat. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that Waupaca was the
county seat. A $15,000 courthouse was built at Waupaca in
1890. The courthouse was remodeled several times, including
a 1906 addition. In 1990, a $10-million courthouse was
completed. |
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February 2006 |
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Milwaukee County Courthouse.
(Milwaukee) Wisconsin’s most populous county, the Milwaukee
County Courthouse is the most monumental of all Neoclassical
courthouse in the state. The three-story structure
features rounded arches and Corinthian colonnades rising
several stores. The courthouse occupies an entire
block in the central city. |
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January 2006 |
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Vilas County Courthouse.
(Eagle River) The first courthouse was completed in 1894,
the first jail built two years later. In 1936 a new
courthouse was built on the same site. An addition was
built in 1976 and a new justice center was added in 1998. |
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December was Capital Christmas Tree |
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November 2005 |
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Sawyer County Courthouse.
(Hayward) The first courthouse was built of pine clapboard
in 1884. In 1962, the courthouse was razed to make room for
a new courthouse on the same site. A clerk of courts wing
was added in 1992 and a health and human services wing in
1998. |
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October 2005 |
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Iowa County Courthouse.
(Dodgeville) The Iowa County Courthouse, designed by Ernest
Wiesen of Mineral Point, is the oldest in continuous use in
the state. The two story structure was built in 1859 in
Greek Revival style with buff Galena limestone from local
quarries. A white, two-story portico with a pediment is
beneath an octagonal cupola. (No enlarged
photo) |
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September 2005 |
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Douglas County Courthouse.
(Superior) Douglas County's first courthouse was built in
1871. It was a two-story frame building built near 25th
Avenue East and East Fifth Street. The present courthouse
was built during the year 1919 and was occupied in March,
1920. It is considered the finest courthouse in the
Northwest. The construction consists of selected Bedford
blue cut stone and Pavanazza marble. |
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August 2005 |
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Taylor County Courthouse.
(Medford) In May 1912, the County Board of
Supervisors took the first step toward the construction
of a new courthouse by approval of a resolution calling
for plans for a new building at a cost not to exceed
$60,000. The building committee favored a building of
stone and brick, with a copper roof, with office and
vault room "for the next hundred years." It was
completed in November of 1914. This 105x65 foot
three-story courthouse stands 45 feet tall. The Roman
Dome caps the otherwise rectangular Greek Style of the
courthouse and rises over the roof another 35 feet. A
bell perches in the cupola of this dome. The courthouse
sits proudly on the topmost elevation in the city. |
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July 2005 |
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Ozaukee County Courthouse.
(Port Washington) In June of 1901 plans were underway
for the laying of the cornerstone of the new courthouse.
The Merchants Advancement Association of Port Washington
stepped forward to plan and finance the cornerstone
celebration. On Saturday June 29, 1901, Port Washington
welcomed visitors and dignitaries from the county and
beyond. The cornerstone festivities began with a grand
parade through the streets of downtown Port Washington. |
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June 2005 |
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Lafayette County Courthouse.
(Darlington) The Lafayette County Courthouse was built
between 1905 and 1907 at a total cost of $136,556.17. When
Mr. Matt Murphy from Benton, Wisconsin, died in 1903, he
bequested that 70% of his estate be used toward the
construction of a County Courthouse. Today, Lafayette County
has the distinction of having the only Courthouse still in
use in the United States that was paid solely by one man. |
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May 2005 |
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Brown County Courthouse.
(Green Bay) In 1992, Brown County completed a ten million
dollar project to restore and refurbish its courthouse. At
the time it was originally dedicated in 1911, the newly
built courthouse in Green Bay, Wisconsin was described by
the newspapers as being "unsurpassed in the State". In the
years following, however, the structure underwent many
alterations and remodeling that hid it's original splendor
and beauty. |
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Some photos courtesy
Wisconsin Society of Land Surveyors |
Wisconsin Register of Deeds Association
