Lake County Courthouse - Two Harbors, Minnesota - Courthouses on Waymarking.com

Lake County was organized in 1856, and the small settlement of Beaver Bay was designated the seat of government. After the DM&IR Railway Company established an iron ore port at Agate Bay in 1884, the court system moved to Two Harbors. In 1888 a two-story frame Queen Anne style courthouse was built with an adjacent two-story brick sheriff's residence and jail.

In 1904 a fire consumed the original courthouse, but the jail was unharmed. In 1906, the present building was completed. The building was designed by architect James Allen MacLeod, in the Beaux Arts style. It is built of brick and stone; basically square in design, with a high, limestone-faced foundation. A low, semi-circular dome with a metallic, fish-scale pattern was placed on the top of the building. When the courthouse was built, the dome, located in the courtroom, was open.

Because of acoustical problems, the dome was enclosed in 1945 and is no longer visible. The building has brick quoins, stone window surrounds, and a projecting cornice with modillions placed above a wide frieze. A decorative parapet with a bank of concentric squares that simulates a Greek fret is still evident above the cornice. Two pairs of two story columns especially reflective of the Beaux Arts influence frame the main entry.

On December 19, 1905, the Lake County Board of Commissioners awarded a contract for painting a courtroom mural and corridors to the Odin J. Oyen decorating firm in LaCrosse, Wisconsin for $1,500.00. Artist Axel Edward Soderberg, the firm's artist, painted the mural "Law and Justice" and three others depicting commerce, mining and forestry.

During the 1990s, the original sheriff's residence and jail were demolished and replaced with a new courthouse addition, known as the Law Enforcement Center.  ~ Lake County website