Pipestone
Minnesota
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Pipestone County Government
History
Your visit to the Pipestone County Courthouse takes you to perhaps one of the best examples in Minnesota of skilled craftsmanship and beauty in architecture using locally quarried, hand-cut Sioux quartzite stone. The building is centrally located in Pipestone, on a square of land which was donated by Daniel Sweet. The foundation of the courthouse was laid in 1899 by Hadwick and McKnight, at a cost of $8,500. Construction of the building followed in 1900.
The building is based on a design by the architectural firm of George Pass and Schippel of Mankato, MN, and C.H. Peltier of Faribault won the contract for building it. The courthouse itself is basically a 100x75 foot rectangle, with a 110 foot renaissance dome topped by a bronze figure of "Justice," which gazes north over the city. The tower features four clock faces, permanently set at different times.
These clocks were never equipped with clockworks. The heavily rusticated masonry conveys a Richardsonian architectural feeling. The courthouse was actually considered a two-story building, but the raised basement and high attic dorms gave the effect of four levels. Although not yet finished, the courthouse was in use by December of 1901. Completed in May of 1902, the initial cost of the structure was about $45,000.
Inside, visitors appreciate the turn of the century style of the rich, oak woodwork and pressed metal ceilings. In the entrance lobby is a plaque honoring Daniel Sweet, co-founder of the city of Pipestone as well as donor of the courthouse site. A mantel in the foyer patterned in varicolored pipestone in an Indian motif, was commissioned by the Woman's World fair Auxiliary Committee to be part of the Minnesota exhibition at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.
There, it received a "Medal of Special Merit." Although inside the courthouse is a Memorial Role of Honor. Installed in 1944, it lists the names of 611 men and women who served in World War I, and 1208 who served in World War II. The courthouse was restored and remodeled during 1995 and 1996, financed in part by county revenue bonds. County commissioners, a citizen advisory committee, and the architects gave special attention to the preservation of the historic value of the courthouse, while making needed improvements and building upgrades. The total cost of the project was $1,760,000.
Your visit to the Pipestone County Courthouse takes you to perhaps one of the best examples in Minnesota of skilled craftsmanship and beauty in architecture using locally quarried, hand-cut Sioux quartzite stone. The building is centrally located in Pipestone, on a square of land which was donated by Daniel Sweet. The foundation of the courthouse was laid in 1899 by Hadwick and McKnight, at a cost of $8,500. Construction of the building followed in 1900.
The building is based on a design by the architectural firm of George Pass and Schippel of Mankato, MN, and C.H. Peltier of Faribault won the contract for building it. The courthouse itself is basically a 100x75 foot rectangle, with a 110 foot renaissance dome topped by a bronze figure of "Justice," which gazes north over the city. The tower features four clock faces, permanently set at different times.
These clocks were never equipped with clockworks. The heavily rusticated masonry conveys a Richardsonian architectural feeling. The courthouse was actually considered a two-story building, but the raised basement and high attic dorms gave the effect of four levels. Although not yet finished, the courthouse was in use by December of 1901. Completed in May of 1902, the initial cost of the structure was about $45,000.
Inside, visitors appreciate the turn of the century style of the rich, oak woodwork and pressed metal ceilings. In the entrance lobby is a plaque honoring Daniel Sweet, co-founder of the city of Pipestone as well as donor of the courthouse site. A mantel in the foyer patterned in varicolored pipestone in an Indian motif, was commissioned by the Woman's World fair Auxiliary Committee to be part of the Minnesota exhibition at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.
There, it received a "Medal of Special Merit." Although inside the courthouse is a Memorial Role of Honor. Installed in 1944, it lists the names of 611 men and women who served in World War I, and 1208 who served in World War II. The courthouse was restored and remodeled during 1995 and 1996, financed in part by county revenue bonds. County commissioners, a citizen advisory committee, and the architects gave special attention to the preservation of the historic value of the courthouse, while making needed improvements and building upgrades. The total cost of the project was $1,760,000.