The first Rock County courthouse was a frame building built in 1875 in Luverne and a brick vault was added in 1879. Its replacement was built less than 10 years later.
The current Richardsonian Romanesque Revival courthouse, shown above, was completed in 1888 of red Sioux quartzite. It was designed by T.D. Allen of Minneapolis and built at a cost of $23,500. The quartzite is rough-faced, along with the Kasota stone of the arches, string courses, and window hoods of the two stories, as well as the high basement and attic.
The dominant feature is the four-story round tower on the southwest corner with the main entry through double arches at its base. The tower is capped with an open, balustraded, gazebo-like observation area with a conical roof. The windows are narrow, vertical, and single except in the central bays of the second floor, where triple windows are topped by a curve extending into the gable.
Inside, the building has oak woodwork with incised decoration, vertical strip wainscoting, and some of the original furniture. Original stencils were reproduced on a paper fabric and applied as a border in the courtroom.
Historical information adapted from "The First 100 Years... The Minnesota State Bar Association."
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