Winnebago County is named for the Winnebago Native American tribe that inhabited the area.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Faribault County, Minnesota and Freeborn County, Minnesota
E – Worth County
S – Hancock County
W – Kossuth County
Created: January 15, 1851
County Seat:
Forest City 1857 – present
County Courthouse – Forest City
Location: 126 South Clark Street / West J Street
Built: 1894 – 1896
Style: Romanesque
Architect: Kinney & Orth
Contractor: F A Gross
Description: The building faces east and is a three story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Forest City. The building has a raised basement of course white colored stone. The northeast corner has a large square brick clock tower rising five stories. The front has three arches on the first story. The roof is hipped. In the interior there is a wide hallway on the first story. Wood stairs ascend to the second story where the County District Court courtroom is located along the east side. There is a small courtroom at the northwest corner. The building houses the County District Court of the 2A Judicial District. An addition was added on the south side in 2001 to 2002. The architect was Wagoner & Wineinger and the contractor was Larson Contracting.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Winnebago County Courthouse
See: The 2A Judicial District includes Bremer County, Butler County, Cerro Gordo County, Floyd County, Franklin County, Hancock County, Mitchell County and Worth County.
History: The county was created in 1851 and Forest City was selected as the county seat in 1857 when the county was organized. The county used various premises until the first courthouse, a small two story frame structure was built by Martin Bumgardner in 1877 at a cost of $3,500. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1894 to 1896 at a cost of $25,000.
County Courthouse – Forest City
County District Court courtroom
County District Court small courtroom
Board of Supervisors Meeting Room
Photos taken 2008, 2012 and 2023
Images 30*