The Otter Tail County Courthouse is the seat of county government and a historic building located in

Fergus Falls, Minnesota Fergus Falls is a city in and the county seat of Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,119 at the 2020 census. History The falls from which the city gets part of its name were discovered by Joe Whitford (a Scotti ...

, United States. Otter Tail County's first

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

was Ottertail City. After the decline of that city, it was moved to Fergus Falls in 1872. with The previous

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

was completed in 1881, and it was damaged by a

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

in June 1919. A

bond issue In finance, a bond is a type of security under which the issuer (debtor) owes the holder (creditor) a debt, and is obliged – depending on the terms – to repay the principal (i.e. amount borrowed) of the bond at the maturity date as well as i ...

was defeated by county voters in August of the same year because of confusion over whether the county was going to build a new courthouse, repair the old building, or wait for building costs to decrease. Another storm took off part of the courthouse's temporary roof a short time later. In November 1920, Judge William L. Parsons ruled that Otter Tail County no longer had a courthouse. That allowed the county commissioners to issue bonds and levy a 1% property tax to build a new building. The present courthouse was designed by the

St. 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; ...

architectural firm of

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 documen ...

, and it was completed in 1922 by L.P. Jorgenson for $322,000. The three-story brick and

Bedford stone 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, ...

structure is an excellent example of the Beaux Arts style, although it is similar to other courthouses of the same style in the state. The law enforcement center was built behind the courthouse in 1962. Designed by Glenn W. Cording Associates, the same light color brick was used so it blends in with the older courthouse. The two buildings were joined together in 1972. 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 v ...

in 1984.

References

Government buildings completed in 1922 Fergus Falls, Minnesota Beaux-Arts architecture in Minnesota Buildings and structures in Otter Tail County, Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Otter Tail County, Minnesota Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota County courthouses in Minnesota {{Minnesota-struct-stub