Kingsbury County Courthouse

Kingsbury County was created and organized on February 2, 1880, and was named for George W. and T. A. Kingsbury, prominent brothers in territorial affairs. De Smet was platted in 1880, and on November 2 of that year it was chosen as the county seat of Kingsbury County. The deed for the present courthouse site was received from Mr. and Mrs. Albert Keep on May 30, 1882. The final decision to build a courthouse was made in April 1888, with the east wing not to exceed a cost of $4,000. On April 5, 1892, initiation for building the west wing was introduced. In January 1898, M. E. Bush was awarded the contract to build an addition, and in January 1899 the new courthouse opened for business. Flowers and trees were planted and curved walkways were added to the grounds, and the carriage drive-through was used by many horses and buggies. In 1982, during restoration of the courthouse, six complete court cases were found in the basement vault, all in the handwriting of Charles P. Ingalls and dating from 1883 to 1884; C. P. Ingalls served as Justice of the Peace for the young community of De Smet during those years.

De Smet, South Dakota · United States