Lake County Courthouse - Two Harbors, Minnesota
Posted by: BruceS
N 47° 01.319 W 091° 40.278
15T E 600973 N 5208463
Courthouse serving Lake County in northern Minnesota.
Waymark Code: WM2PY3
Location: Minnesota, United States
Date Posted: 12/03/2007
Views: 58
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