Adams County is named for John Quincy Adams, who was President of the United States from 1825 – 1829.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Wood County and Portage County
E – Waushara County and Marquette County
S – Columbia County
W – Juneau County
Created: March 11, 1848
County Seat:
Quincy 1848 – 1858
Friendship 1858 – present
County Courthouse – Friendship
Location: 402 North Main Street / 3rd Street
Built: 1913 – 1914
Style: Neo-Classical Revival
Architect: Arthur Peabody
Contractor: George Kieke
Description: The building faces west and is a two story limestone, brick and stone structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Friendship. The original building has white colored vertical pillars on the original red colored brick section. The roof is hipped. In the interior are three County Circuit Court courtrooms with the original County Circuit Court courtroom A located on the west side of the second story. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 7th Judicial District. There is also a red colored brick addition on the north side. A two story addition containing the large County Circuit Court courtroom C was constructed in 2020 to 2022 on the east side. The architect was Potter Lawson of Madison and the contractor was Vogel Brothers of Madison. On the south side is the County Administration Building.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Adams County Courthouse
See: The 7th Judicial District includes Buffalo County, Clark County, Crawford County, Grant County, Iowa County, Jackson County, Juneau County, La Crosse County, Monroe County, Pepin County, Pierce County, Richland County, Trempealeau County and Vernon County.
History: The county was created in 1848 and Quincy was selected as the county seat. The county seat was moved to Friendship in 1858. The first courthouse was erected in 1859. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1914 to 1917 at a cost of $30,000. In 2020 to 2022 an addition was constructed on the east side.
County Administration Building – Friendship
Location: 402 North Main Street / 3rd Street
Built: 1997 – 1998
Style: Modern
Architect: Ayers Associates Inc. of Eau Claire
Contractor: Roberts Construction
Description: The building faces west and is a two story red colored brick and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Friendship along the south side of the courthouse. The roof line is flat. In the interior there is a two story entrance lobby and glass wall. The staircase ascends to the second story.
County Courthouse – Friendship
New Addition (right) on east side
County Circuit Court courtroom A
County Administration Building – Friendship
Photos taken 2008 and 2022
Images 15*