Brown County Courthouse (South Dakota)

The Brown County Courthouse is a historic courthouse in Aberdeen, the county seat of Brown County, South Dakota. It was built in 1904 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

For the Federal courthouse in Aberdeen, see United States Post Office and Courthouse–Aberdeen.
Brown County Courthouse
Courthouse circa 1910, showing original stairway
LocationAberdeen, South Dakota
Coordinates45.4646°N 98.4866°W / 45.4646; -98.4866
Built1904
ArchitectKinney & Detweiler
Architectural styleRenaissance Revival
NRHP reference No.76001718[1]
Added to NRHPJune 3, 1976[2]

History
Courthouse in 2017, showing first floor entrance

Columbia, South Dakota, was the site of Brown County's first courthouse until 1887 when Aberdeen became the county seat.[3][4] A dispute followed, and the county seat moved back to Columbia from November 1889 until 1890, after which Aberdeen permanently became the county seat.[4] After becoming the county seat, a wood frame courthouse building was built in Aberdeen.[5][6]

Work on a new courthouse in Aberdeen began by 1902,[7] designed by architects Frank W. Kinney and Menno S. Detweiler.[8][9] It was built by E. Miller of Le Mars, Iowa, and completed in 1904 at a cost of around $120,000.[2][10] Two half blocks of land were donated by several property owners and a street was removed for the courthouse site.[3][5] The courthouse was formally dedicated on March 15, 1904.[3][11] The old courthouse was demolished in 1905 and the site was turned into a park.[6][12]

In 1974, the sandstone stairway that led to the second floor entrance was removed to improve accessibility; it was replaced by a plate glass entrance on the first floor. The courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 3, 1976.[2] In 2014, after suffering deterioration, the stained glass window around the old entrance was removed, cleaned, and reinstalled.[13]

Architecture
The dome, one clock face, and statue of Justice as seen from the west

The courthouse is a three-story building in the Renaissance Revival style. The building is made of Berea Sandstone that was quarried near Cleveland, Ohio.[2] The front facade faces south and is divided into thirteen bays. The entrance is flanked by two 20-foot-tall (6.1 m) Corinthian columns made of Ortonville granite. The original second-floor entrance is encircled by a two-story-tall arch of stained glass. The building is topped by a dome with four clocks facing each of north, south, east and west. On top of the dome is a copper statue of Justice.[2]

The courthouse originally stood alone on the block; later on an addition was built at the southwest corner for more offices and a jail was built at the southeast corner.[2]

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. Edith M. French (June 3, 1976). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Brown County Courthouse" (pdf). National Park Service. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)"Accompanying 2 photos, from 1974" (pdf). National Register of Historic Places Inventory.
  3. Daly, Geo B. (March 18, 1904). "Courthouse Dedication". The Aberdeen Democrat.
  4. Early History of Brown County, South Dakota. Western Printing Company. 1965. pp. 11–12.
  5. "New County Building in South Dakota". The Minneapolis Journal. February 6, 1904.
  6. Hayes, Tom; Wiese, Mike (2003). Aberdeen in Vintage Postcards. Arcadia Publishing. p. 98. ISBN 9780738523088.
  7. "Big Contract Held Up: May Cause Delay at Aberdeen". The Minneapolis Journal. April 1, 1902.
  8. Jeff Dean and David Donath (December 22, 1978). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Lafayette County Courthouse" (pdf). National Park Service. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. "Court House, Aberdeen S.D." Improvement Bulletin. Chapin Publishing Company. 25 (11). February 8, 1902.
  10. "Complete Cost: Brown County's Courthouse has Cost a Snug Sum". The Aberdeen Democrat. April 21, 1905.
  11. "National Guard Association". The Minneapolis Journal. February 24, 1904. The date decided upon for the formal dedication of the new Brown county courthouse is March 15...
  12. "Tearing Down a Landmark: The Old Brown County Court House is Being Demolished". The Kimball Graphic. June 17, 1905.
  13. Waltman, Scott (June 25, 2014). "Brown County Courthouse window project progresses". The American News. Archived from the original on February 2, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2018.

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