Court Square was dedicated to Freeborn County by the Ruble family in 1856. In 1886, a Richardson Romanesque courthouse was designed by architect C.A. Dunham of Burlington, IA. Courthouse construction was completed in 1888 by contractor Alex McNeil at a cost of $75,000. In 1914, a Civil War statue was dedicated in memory of Union soldiers and sailors. A courthouse addition was constructed in 1954, when the clock tower, chimneys, and turrets were removed. A law enforcement addition was built in 1975. In 2003, the 1954 courthouse addition was razed, and in 2004 the original courthouse was renovated and a County Government Center was built.