Dunn County - American Courthouses

Dunn County is named for John Piatt Dunn of Bismarck, North Dakota ( 1839-1917 ), an 1872 arrival who opened the first drug store in North Dakota and who was a civic and commercial leader.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – McKenzie County and Mountrail County

E – McLean County and Mercer County

S – Stark County

W – Billings County and McKenzie County

Created: May 24, 1901

County Seat:

Manning 1908 – present

County Courthouse – Manning

Location: 205 Owens Street / Highway 22

Built: 2016 – 2018

Style: Modern

Architect: JLG Architects of Grand Forks

Contractor: JE Dunn Construction of Kansas City, Missouri

Description: The building faces east and is a two story dark red and buff colored brick and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Manning. The east front of the building has a projecting section at the southeast corner. At the center is a two story section with entrance on the first story. On the north side is a one story section which houses the two courtrooms. The roof line is flat. In the interior is a two story lobby with stairs ascending to the second story. The main hallway runs north-south. At the north end of the building is the large County District Court courtroom. A hallway runs east-west with the small County District Court courtroom on the north side. The building houses the County District Court of the Southwest Judicial District.

Former County Courthouse – Manning

Location: 205 Owens Street / Highway 22

Built: 1994 – 1995

Style: Modern

Architect: Rich zumBrunnen

Contractor: Kolling & Kolling Inc.

Description: The building faced south and was a one story dark brown colored brick and concrete structure. The building was located on landscaped grounds in the center of Manning. The south front of the building had a single thin column supporting the brick portico. Two horizontal brown colored bands wrapped around the exterior. The building had small windows and the roof line was flat.

See: The Southwest Judicial District includes Adams County, Billings County, Bowman County, Golden Valley County, Hettinger County, Slope County and Stark County.

History: The county was created in 1901 and Manning was selected as the county seat in 1908 when the county was organized. The first courthouse was a one story frame structure built beside the Knife River in 1908. The courthouse burned in 1912. The second courthouse was a one story frame structure designed by Arnt Ree and built by Davis & Son in 1914 to 1915 at a cost of $3,800. The third courthouse was constructed in 1994 to 1995. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 2016 to 2018.