Brown County is named for two of five members of the Legislature who sponsored the bill to create the county in 1883 and who had the surname “Brown”.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Keya Paha County
E – Rock County
S – Blaine County
W – Cherry County
Created: February 19, 1883
County Seat:
Ainsworth 1883 – present
County Courthouse – Ainsworth
Location: 148 West 4th Street / North Woodward Street
Built: 1958 – 1959
Style: Modern
Architect: B H Backlund & Associates, Inc. of Omaha
Contractor: Fullen Construction Company, Inc. of Scotts Bluff
Description: The building faces south and is a two story red colored brick, glass and concrete structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Ainsworth. The center section of the south side is dark glass divided into six vertical sections framed with light colored concrete. On the east and west are large dark glass walls divided into three sections by narrow dividers. The building has few windows and a flat roof. On the north side is a one story red colored brick addition which is attached to the main building and contains the combined County District Court and County Court courtroom. The building houses the District Court and County Court of the 8th Judicial District. Further north is the old red colored brick Sheriff’s Residence and Old Log Cabin.
See: The architect, B H Backlund and Associates Inc. of Omaha, designed courthouses in Boyd County and Cuming County.
See: The contractor, Fullen Construction Company, Inc. of Scotts Bluff, also constructed the courthouse in Banner County and Sioux County.
See: The 8th Judicial District includes Blaine County, Boyd County, Cherry County, Custer County, Garfield County, Greeley County, Holt County, Howard County, Keya Paha County, Loup County, Rock County, Sherman County, Valley County and Wheeler County.
History: The county was created in 1883 and Ainsworth was selected as the county seat. The commissioners rented the east ten feet of Reed’s Hall for the use of the county offices for the sum of ten dollars a month with the privilege of using the balance of the hall, if necessary, for a courtroom. Reed’s Hall was the second story of the old Snell building on the east side of Main Street. This hall was found to be ill adapted to use as a court house. In June 1884, the main hall of the Ainsworth Opera House, later the Osborn Hotel, was rented for $25.00 per month. The first courthouse was a two story brick structure designed by W D Vanatta and built by William Whitticar, Frank Whitticar, W D Vanatta, J B Finney and Lewis Williams in 1888. The courthouse was destroyed by fire 1n 1958. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1958 to 1959.
County Courthouse – Ainsworth
County District Court and County Court courtroom
Sheriff Residence – Ainsworth
Photos taken 2006 and 2010
Images 10*