The Wilkin County Courthouse is the primary government building of

Wilkin County, Minnesota Wilkin County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population of Wilkin County was 6,506. Its county seat is Breckenridge. The county is named for Colonel Alexander Wilkin, a lawyer who served as Minnesota's ...

, United States, located in the city of Breckenridge. Built from 1928 to 1929, the courthouse was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1980 for having local significance in the themes of architecture and politics/government. It was nominated for being Wilkin County's seat of government and for its well-preserved architecture.

Description

The Wilkin County Courthouse is a two-story building with a raised basement, constructed of cream-colored brick and

Indiana limestone Indiana limestone — also known as Bedford limestone in the building trade — has long been an economically important building material, particularly for monumental public structures. Indiana limestone is a more common term for Salem Limestone, ...

. Its architectural elements suggest Beaux-Arts style, but flattened and squared off to conform to the Moderne aesthetics of the 1920s. Tall brick

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

s extend to a cornice, which is topped by a high parapet with the inscription "To None Will We Delay, To None Will We Deny, Right or Justice." The flat roofline disguises that the building has a stained-glass dome over its central hall. Over the main doorway is a

transom window In architecture, a transom is a transverse horizontal structural beam or bar, or a crosspiece separating a door from a window above it. This contrasts with a mullion, a vertical structural member. Transom or transom window is also the customary U ...

and a cornice topped by a stone eagle. Other details include carved rosettes and garlands. Interior features include

terrazzo Terrazzo is a composite material, poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable material, poured with a cementitious binder (for chemical bind ...

floors, steel and bronze doors, ornamental plaster, pink

Tennessee marble Tennessee marble is a type of crystalline limestone found only in East Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. Long esteemed by architects and builders for its pinkish-gray color and the ease with which it is polished, this stone has been ...

wainscoting, and brass trim. Murals represent life in 19th-century Wilkin County.

History

The current building was constructed as a replacement for an 1883 courthouse that burned down in 1924. It was designed by

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

architects

Buechner & Orth Buechner & Orth was a St. Paul, Minnesota-based architectural firm that designed buildings in Minnesota and surrounding states, including 13 courthouses in North Dakota. It was the subject of a 1979 historic resources study. (main body of document ...

, and the firm of Redlinger & Hanson was paid $203,492 to build it. The inscription across the top of the building is a quote from Magna Carta.

References

External links

Wilkin County District Court
{{National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Beaux-Arts architecture in Minnesota Buildings and structures in Wilkin County, Minnesota County courthouses in Minnesota Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Government buildings completed in 1929 National Register of Historic Places in Wilkin County, Minnesota

Description

History

See also

References

External links