Chickasaw County is named for the Chickasaw Native American tribe whose Chief was Bradford.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Howard County
E – Winneshiek County and Fayette County
S – Bremer County
W – Floyd County
Created: January 15, 1851
County Seat:
Bradford 1854 – 1857
New Hampton 1857 – present
County Courthouse – New Hampton
Location: 8 East Prospect Street / North Chestnut Avenue
Built: 1929 – 1930
Style: Neo-Classical
Architect: Ralston & Ralston of Waterloo
Contractor: Tapager Construction Company of Albert Lea, Minnesota
Description: The building faces south and is a three story gray Bedford limestone and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of New Hampton. The central entrance has a projecting overhang. The first story has horizontal stonework with a projecting ridge above. The roof line is flat and has a wide band of limestone. In the interior there is a central atrium which rises to a skylight at the top of the third story. There is an ornate fireplace and stain glass window on the stair well. The County District Court courtroom is located along the east side of the third story. There is a small courtroom at the northwest corner of the third story. The building houses the County District Court of the 1B Judicial District. During construction, the superintendent was George Metcalf.
See : The architect J G Ralston of Waterloo and the contractor Tapager Construction Company of Albert Lea, Minnesota also designed and constructed the courthouse in Fayette County.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Chickasaw County Courthouse
See: The 1B Judicial District includes Black Hawk County, Buchanan County, Fayette County, Grundy County and Howard County.
History: The county was created in 1851 and Bradford was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a log structure built in Bradford in 1854. In 1857, the county seat was moved to New Hampton. The second courthouse was a small frame structure built in New Hampton in 1865. The building enlarged in 1876 and was destroyed by fire on March 26, 1880. The third courthouse was a brick and stone structure designed and built by Louis Brown in 1881 at a cost of $10,500. Additions were added in 1905 and 1906 designed by Harry E Netcott. The building burned in 1928. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 1929 to 1930 at a cost of $134,000.
County Courthouse – New Hampton
County District Court courtroom
County District Court small courtroom
Photos taken 2008 and 2023
Images 27*