Watonwan County's First Courthouse

When Watonwan County was created by the Minnesota Legislature in 1860, the county seat was established at Madelia, then the center of the county's earliest settlement along the Watonwan River. This brick building, erected by Joseph Flanders in 1872, served as the courthouse until the county seat was moved to St. James in 1878. The court room and judge's chambers were on the upper floor, and the county offices shared the lower floor with the Watonwan County Bank.

Madelia, Minnesota · United States