Dodge County - American Courthouses

Dodge County is named for Henry Dodge, who was a territorial governor, delegate in Congress and a United States Senator from Wisconsin from 1836 to 1857, and for his son, Augustus Dodge, who was a delegate to Congress for the Iowa Territory from 1840 to 1847 and a United States Senator from Iowa from 1848 to 1855.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Goodhue County

E – Olmsted County

S – Mower County

W – Steele County

Created: February 20, 1855

County Seat:

Mantorvilie 1857 – present

County Courthouse – Mantorville

Location: 22 6th Street East / Branch Street

Built: 1865 – 1870

Style: Renaissance Revival

Architect: E Townsend Mix of Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Contractor: Thomas Marshall and Samuel Wilson

Description: The building faces south and is a two story buff colored stone structure which sits on the side of a hill. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Mantorville. The south front has a large portico supported by four large columns rising to a flat roof, which portico was added in 1900. The architect and contractor was A C Thomas.. A decorative cornice follows the roof line. In the center is an octagonal cupola with silver colored dome. The County District Court courtroom is located on the second story. The building houses the County District Court of the 3rd Judicial District. Along the east side is the modern County Courthouse Annex of buff colored brick, dark glass and concrete constructed in 1990. The architect was Kane and Johnson Associates, Inc.

Note: The courthouse is the oldest courthouse in Minnesota still in use as a courthouse and the oldest courthouse is located in Washington County.

See: The 3rd Judicial District includes Fillmore County, Freeborn County, Houston County, Mower County, Olmsted County, Rice County, Steele County, Wabasha County, Waseca County and Winona County.

History: The county was created in 1855 and Mantorville was selected as the county seat in 1857. The first and present courthouse was constructed in 1865 to 1870 at a cost of $15,000. The locally quarried limestone was slid over the frozen ground to the building site. The County Courthouse Annex was constructed in 1990. The County Government Services Building was constructed in 2014 to 2016.

County Government Services Building – Mantorville

Location: 720 North Main Street / 7th Street West

Built: 2014 – 2016

Style: Modern

Architect: Wold Architects and Engineers

Contractor: Alvin E Benike, Inc.

Description: The building faces west and is a two story buff and red colored brick, glass and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Mantorville to the northwest of the courthouse. The west front has a glass panel entrance on the first story and glass panel section on the second story. On the east section is the one story red colored brick section. The building was formerly a school and is named as the Dodge County Government Services Building.