Potter County is named for Dr. Joel Potter, who was a Yankton legislator in 1877 and a long time steward at the State Hospital at Yankton.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Walworth County and Edmunds County
E – Faulk County
S – Hyde County and Sully County
W – Dewey County
Created: January 8, 1873
County Seat:
Forrest City 1883 – 1885
Gettysburg 1885 – present
County Courthouse – Gettysburg
Location: 201 South Exene Street / West Lincoln Avenue
Built: 1910 – 1911
Style: Classical Revival
Architect: Black Hills Company of Deadwood (J P Eisentraut)
Contractor: Mencier & Stolte of Redfield
Description: The building faces west and is a three story gray colored stone and concrete structure. The building is located on spacious grounds in the center of Gettysburg. The first story is a light colored sandstone. The first story of the courthouse serves visually as a podium upon which the upper two stories rest; it is faced with cut sandstone panels typically measuring 10 by 32 inches. On each side of the building, the center section projects from the main building with a Greek style roof. Around the roof is a solid stone balustrade. The roof line is flat. In the interior, the floors in hallways and other public areas are surfaced with white colored tile and black colored tiles placed in a repeating diamond pattern accentuate the floors, and the floor edges include black colored tiles in a simple labyrinth pattern. Interior doors are paneled wood with half-light glazing, and are beneath transoms. The large County Circuit Court courtroom is located on the third story. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 6th Judicial Circuit and the County Magistrate Court.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Potter County Courthouse
See: The 6th Judicial Circuit includes Bennett County, Gregory County, Haakon County, Hughes County, Hyde County, Jackson County, Jones County, Lyman County, Mellette County, Stanley County, Sully County, Todd County and Tripp County.
History: The county was created in 1873 as Ashmore County until 1877. Forrest City was selected as the county seat when the county was organized in 1883. The first meeting of commissioners in 1883 was held in Forrest City. The county seat was moved to Gettysburg in 1884. The first courthouse was a two story frame structure erected in 1888. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1910 to 1911.
County Courthouse – Gettysburg
County Circuit Court courtroom
Photos taken 2006, 2010 and 2015
Images 14*