The county's first court session was held in a log school house shortly after the county's organization in 1856. Years later, the village of Glencoe contributed $2,000 to the county to build the 1876 courthouse that forms the core of the present building. Between 1876 and 1982, the county added to, expanded, and remodeled the original $10,397 building six times, at a cost of about $3.5 million. The above photograph shows the courthouse in 1959.
The impression of the building from the front is of a 1909 vintage, brick Beaux Arts building with a brick box joined to it by a recessed two-story glass section. W.F. Kinney of Stebbins, Kinney and Halden, designed the 1909 classic columned renovation and Emil M. Jacobson was the builder.
The 1958 windowless addition was by Hammel & Green of St. Paul and is compatible in proportion to the original building though completely contemporary.
The McLeod County Courthouse has changed multiple times since it was first built in 1876.
Historical information adapted from "The First 100 Years... The Minnesota State Bar Association."
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