Minnesota's first courthouse, a three-room frame structure erected at the corner of 4th and Chestnut Street in Stillwater in 1849, had become inadequate by 1866. On November 6 of that year, Washington County voters approved funds for the construction of a new building.
For the magnificent sum of $5, Socrates Nelson, a prominent Stillwater lumberman, and Mrs. Elizabeth M. Churchill offered the city a block of property on "Zion's Hill." By the time ground-breaking ceremonies were held in April, 1867, Augustus F. Knight, St. Paul's first resident architect, had been commissioned to design the building. His unique design reflects the Italianate style then so popular. Constructed of native sandstone faced with red brick, the courthouse features a projecting portico with two tiers of ten rounded arches.
Two local contractors, George M. Seymour and William M. May, supervised the construction which was completed during the winter and spring of 1869-70, despite the seemingly insurmountable difficulty of laying the imported English floor tiles in the correct pattern. The courthouse stands today as "an ornament to the city" and "a credit to the county."
Erected by Minnesota Historical Society
1968
[Seals of the Natural Resources Fund and The Minnesota Historical Society]
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