Miner County is named for Nelson Miner of Vermillion and Ephraim Miner of Yankton, both of whom were territorial legislators in 1873.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Kingsbury County
E – Lake County
S – McCook County and Hanson County
W – Sanborn County
Created: January 8, 1873
County Seat:
Forestburg 1880 – 1882
Howard 1882 – present
County Courthouse – Howard
Location: 401 North Main Street / Park Avenue
Built: 1934 – 1935
Style: Art Deco
Architect: Floyd E Kings and Walter J Dixon
Contractor: Huron Construction Company
Description: The building faces south and is a three buff colored brick, stone and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Howard. The south entrance is framed with stone. On the second and third stories, the windows are separated by silver colored dividers. There is a crest near the roof line and the roof line is flat. In the interior, Art Deco metal stairs ascend to the third story. The County Circuit Court courtroom is located on the on the west side of the third story. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 3rd Judicial District and the County Magistrate Court.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Miner County Courthouse
See: The 3rd Judicial Circuit includes Beadle County, Brookings County, Clark County, Codington County, Deuel County, Grant County, Hamlin County, Hand County, Jerauld County, Kingsbury County, Lake County, Moody County and Sanborn County.
History: The county was created in 1873 and Forestburg was selected as the county seat in 1880 when the county was organized. The county occupied rental premises. The county seat was moved to Howard in 1882 and a courthouse was built in 1883 at a cost of $15,000. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1934 to 1935 at a cost of $107,000.
County Courthouse – Howard
County Circuit Court courtroom
Photos taken 2007, 2009 and 2018
Images 16*