Gallatin County - American Courthouses

Gallatin County is named for Albert Gallatin, who was United States Secretary of the Treasury at the time of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Broadwater County and Meagher County

E – Park County and Park County, Wyoming

S – Fremont County, Idaho

W – Madison County

Created: February 2, 1865

County Seat:

Gallatin City 1865 – 1867

Bozeman 1865 – present

County Courthouse – Bozeman

Location: 311 West Main Street / North 3rd Avenue

Built: 1934 – 1935

Style: Art Deco

Architect: Fred F Wilson of Bozeman

Contractor: Mead & Mount of Denver, Colorado

Description: The building faces south and is a three story stone, concrete and glass structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Bozeman. The south front has vertical sections which divide the windows and entrances on the first story. The center section projects from the main building. The building has a flat roof. In the interior are marble walls and stairs. The former courtroom is located on the north side of the third story and is now the Community Room. On the west side is the Old County Jail built in 1911 and on the east side is the County Law and Justice Center..

See: National Register of Historic Places – Gallatin County Courthouse

County Justice Center – Bozeman

Location: 615 South 16th Avenue / West Dickerson Street

Built: 2022 – 2024

Style: Modern

Architect: ThinkOne Architecture

Contractor: Martel Construction Inc. of Bozeman

Description: The modern building faces south and is a two story white colored brick, glass and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds to the southwest of the center of Bozeman. The center section projects and rises above the east and west wings which have vertical white colored dividers. The roof line is flat. In the interior there is a foyer at the central entrance and high ceiling hallways running east and west. The four County District Court courtrooms, two County Justice Court courtrooms and a County Youth Court courtroom are along the north side of the building.

County Law and Justice Center (demolished) – Bozeman

Location: 615 South 16th Avenue / West Dickerson Street

Built: 1961 – 1962

Style: Schoolhouse Modern

Architect: Norman Hamill and Associates of Butte

Contractor: Haggerty-Messmer

Description: The building faces west and is a two story brown colored brick, concrete and glass structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds to the southwest of the center of Bozeman. The building has a north wing with basement and a southeast wing connected to the lower southwest entrance section. The west front has horizontal white colored bands with horizontal windows below each band. The central entrance is recessed. The roof line is flat. In the interior, the County District Court courtrooms are located on the first and second stories in the north wing. The building houses the County District Court of the 18th Judicial District and County Justice Court. The building was formerly the Holy Rosary High School. The county purchased the building in the 1970s.

History: The county was created in 1865 and Gallatin City was selected as the county seat. The county government was housed in private residences in Gallatin City until 1867 when the county seat was moved to Bozeman. The first courthouse was designed by B Vreeland and F W Vreeland and constructed by Shaffer & Yergy in 1880 to 1881 at a cost of $25,000. An addition was constructed at the rear of the courthouse in 1884 at a cost of $6,017. An addition was designed by Charles & Haire in 1902. In 1910 a new jail was designed by Fred F Wilson and constructed next to the courthouse at a cost of $35,000. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1934 to 1935 at a cost of $146,000. The Law and Justice Center was constructed in 1961 to 1962. The new County Justice Center was constructed in 2022 to 2024 at a cost of $46,000,000.