The Martin County Courthouse is the county courthouse for Martin County,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. The building is located at 201 Lake Avenue on the western side of the city of Fairmont, on a hill overlooking

Lake Sisseton Sisseton Lake is a lake in Martin County, in the U.S. state of Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the n ...

. It is a Beaux Arts building featuring a high copper dome with four clock faces. The first floor was made out of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

. The second and third stories are built of Bedford limestone. The arched entrance is flanked by polished double

Corinthian order The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric or ...

columns and topped by a pediment. The building is connected to the brick and concrete Martin County Security Building by

skyway A skyway, skybridge, skywalk, or sky walkway is an elevated type of pedway connecting two or more buildings in an urban area, or connecting elevated points within mountainous recreational zones. Urban skyways very often take the form of Cover ...

on second level, and by tunnel below ground, at basement level. The security building provides space for police and detention, and was designed by 1972. The building is by and rises to the top of the roof, then to the top of the dome. with Renovations_at_Martin_County_Courthouse

History

The building was designed by Charles E. Bell and built by J. B. Nelson for $125,000 during 1906-1907. Interior murals of figures representing Peace, War, Inspiration, Genius, Sentence, and The Execution were painted by Franz E. Rohrbeck of Milwaukee. Interior finishing includes marble countertops, metalwork, and stained glass. The original clock, seated at the base of the domed roof, was designed and manufactured by noted clockmaker Seth Thomas. It features four 7 foot tall clocks, one on each side of the tower. Renovation of the building began in late 2020, with the aim of replacing the leaking copper roof, as well as restoring the clockworks inside of the tower.

References

External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places Beaux-Arts architecture in Minnesota Buildings and structures in Martin County, Minnesota Clock towers in Minnesota County courthouses in Minnesota Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Government buildings completed in 1907 National Register of Historic Places in Martin County, Minnesota