Lawrence County - American Courthouses

Lawrence County is named for John Lawrence of Yankton, who was a legislator in 1875.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Butte County

E – Meade County

S – Pennington County

W – Weston County, Wyoming and Crook County, Wyoming

Created: January 11, 1875

County Seat:

Deadwood 1877 – present

County Courthouse – Deadwood

Location: 78 Sherman Street / Pine Street

Built: 1906 – 1908

Style: Beaux Arts

Architect: Belle and Detweiler of Minneapolis, Minnesota

Contractor: Mullen and Munn of Deadwood

Description: The building faces east and is a three story brownstone and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Deadwood. On the center of the roof is a square brownstone cupola with green colored roof and stained glass windows. At the east front on the second and third story are two columns with three recessed windows. In the interior, the floors are composed of mosaic work and Greek fret borders near the walls. The second floor has ornate iron railing backed by golden oak. The County Circuit Court courtroom is located on the third story. The chandeliers in the courtroom were purchased from Illuminating Systems of Omaha, Nebraska. The seating in the jury box is original along with the box itself, the judge’s bench and the attorney tables. There is a courtroom on the first story and a courtroom on the second story. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 4th Judicial Circuit. The building was renovated and restored in 1990 and a new Annex was built to the south of the Courthouse.

Note: During construction of the courthouse, George V Ayers of Deadwood did the plumbing and heating, W C Vosburg Company did the lighting, O J Oyen Company of Wisconsin did the painting, Art Metal Construction Company did the steel furniture and A H Andrews did the wood furniture.

Note: During the renovation and restoration of the courthouse in 1990, the architect was Neumann, Monson and Wictor of Sioux City, Iowa and general contractor was MAC Construction and Rapid City Construction; electrical was Brad Clark Electric of Fort Pierre and plumbing and heating was Spearfish Plumbing and Heating and Wolf’s Plumbing and Heating. Conrad Schmitt Studios of New Berlin, Wisconsin, was contracted to restore the murals, using buttermilk to clean off years of accumulated smoke (cigar) and dust. The four paintings originally in the Commissioner’s room were cleaned, framed and placed in the public area on the second floor. The ornate moldings and borders were gilded with 24 karat gold leaf paint. The stained glass at the top of the cupola was restored by the Minneapolis Art and Stained Glass Company. There were a few panels missing, however, enough were still intact so the company could restore it to its original look and color. Restoration in the courthouse used original woodwork, doors, hardware, wainscoting and wood furniture whenever possible. Painstaking efforts were made to replicate anything that could not be restored. Particular attention to detail was made in the public places, cupola and third floor courtroom to restore these back to their original splendor. One hundred seventeen pieces of original furniture were restored and are in use throughout the courthouse, which is now used entirely to house the court system.

County Administration Building – Deadwood

Location: 90 Sherman Street / Center Street

Built: 1990 – 1991

Style: Modern

Architect: Neumann, Monson and Wictor of Sioux City, Iowa

Contractor: MAC Construction and Rapid City Construction

Description: The building faces north and is a two story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Deadwood on the south side of the courthouse. The north front has a central glass entrance on the first story with large glass window on the second story and framed with concrete. Horizonal concrete bands run below the windows and the flat rook line. The building houses the County Magistrates Court.

See: The 4th Judicial Circuit includes Butte County, Corson County, Dewey County, Harding County, Meade County, Perkins County and Ziebach County.

History: The county was created in 1875 and Deadwood was selected as the county seat in 1877 when the county was organized. The first courthouse was an existing building which later was destroyed by fire in 1879. A rented building was used by the court until 1889, when a two story brick structure was built on the corner of Sherman Street and Pine Street. The courthouse was demolished and was replaced by the third and present courthouse constructed in 1906 to 1908 at a cost of $109,579. The courthouse was renovated and restored and an annex constructed in 1990 at a cost of $3,800,000.