Williams County - American Courthouses

Williams County is named for Erastus Appelman Williams of Bismarck, North Dakota ( 1850-1930 ), an outstanding figure in the political history of the Dakota Territory and North Dakota who served during ten legislative sessions.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Divide County

E – Burke County and Mountrail County

S – McKenzie County

W – Roosevelt County, Montana and Sheridan County, Montana

Created: November 30, 1891

County Seat:

Williston 1891 – present

County Courthouse – Williston

Location: 205 East Broadway / 2nd Avenue East

Built: 1953 – 1954

Style: Modern

Architect: William Kurke and Associates of Fargo

Contractor: Johson-Gillander of Grand Forks

Description: The building faces south and is a three story red and buff colored brick, glass and concrete structure. The building is located in the center of Williston. The first story is faced with a rose marble stone and the upper part is a white colored polished stone. At the south front, the entrance is towards the west side and has narrow windows divided by protruding dividers on the second and third stories. In the interior there are two small County District Court courtrooms on the south side of the second story. On the third story is a County District Court courtroom along the south side and a County District Court courtroom is located on the northeast side. The City Court courtroom is on the first story. The building houses the County District Court of the Northwest Judicial District. In 2007 to 2008 an addition was constructed on the east side to house the Law Enforcement Center. The architect was Hulsing & Associates and HDR Architecture and the contractor was Parsons. In 2016 to 2018 a large addition for the Law Enforcement Center was constructed on the east side and the courthouse was renovated. The architect was Klein McCarthy and the contractor was JE Dunn Construction of Kansas City, Missouri.

See: The Northwest Judicial District includes Divide County and McKenzie County.

County Administration Building – Williston

Location: 206 East Broadway / 2nd Avenue East

Built: 2017 – 2019

Style: Modern

Architect: JLG Architect of Grand Forks

Contractor: JE Dunn Construction of Kansas City, Missouri.

Description: The building faces north and is a three story steel concrete and glass structure. The building is located in the center of Williston on the south side of the courthouse. The east rectangular section is three stories and the west section is one story. Along the north side are vertical divided with narrow windows between. The base of the building is a dark brown finish and the upper part is a buff colored finish. The roof line is flat. The Commissioner Room is located on the lower level of the west side.

Note: The architect JLG Architects of Grand Forks has designed buildings in Stark County and Ward County.

History: The county was created in 1891 and Williston was selected as the .county seat. The first court met in the Odd Fellows Lodge. The first courthouse was a frame structure built by H E Fields and R E Patch in 1894 at a cost of $1,171. The second courthouse was designed by Charles E Bell and John N Kent and built by Lease & Richards of Helena, Montana in 1899 at a cost of $11,456. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1953 to 1954 at a cost of $715,000. The Law Enforcement Center was constructed in 2007 to 2008 and expanded in 2016 to 2018. The County Administration Building was constructed in 2017 to 2018 at a cost of $54,000,000.