Outagamie County - American Courthouses

Outagamie County is named for the Outagamie Native American people.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Waupaca County, Shawano County and Brown County

E – Brown County

S – Calumet County and Winnebago County

W – Waupaca County

Created: February 17, 1851

County Seat:

Grand Chute 1851 – 1852

Appleton 1852 – present

County Courthouse – Appleton

Location: 310 South Walnut Street / West 6th Street

Built: 1940 – 1942

Style: Art Deco

Architect: Raymond N Le Vee

Contractor: Hoffman Construction Company

Description: The building faces west and is a three story buff colored limestone clad structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Appleton. The building has a raised basement. The buff limestone was quarried in Bloomington, Indiana. The windows are vertical and narrow. The west center section projects from the main building and has four vertical dividers. The roof line is flat. In the interior, aluminum also ornaments the domed marble lobby, but frescoes on the lobby walls lend the space a sense of warmth. Francis Scott Bradford, an Appleton native and nationally prominent muralist, depicted themes of settlement, labor, and family, each accompanied by Bible verses. The murals are subdivided into six panels each and have lines from the Old Testament and the Apocrypha to explain the scenes. On the east side of the lobby marble stairs ascend to the second story which over-looks the lobby. The former courtroom was located on the third story but was converted to offices. The designer was Maurey Lee Allen. The murals were done by Francis Scott Bradford. The building was remodeled in 1977. The architect was Danielski & Associates Ltd.

County Justice Center – Appleton

Addition constructed in front of the County Justice Center in 2018

Location: 320 South Walnut Street / West 6th Street

Built: 1990 – 1992

Style: Modern

Architect: Potter Lawson Architects

Contractor: Miron Construction Company

Description: The building faces west and is a seven story concrete and glass structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Appleton on the north side of the courthouse. The west entrance projects from the main building with two sets of doors. In the interior are seven County Circuit Court courtrooms located on the second and third stories. In 2017 to 2018, a three story glass and concrete rectangular shaped addition was constructed on the west side connecting the Courthouse on the south with the Justice Center on the east. The west front has large vertical windows with the entrance located at the north end. The roof line is flat. In the interior, the lobby rises two stories. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 8th Judicial District. The architect was McMahon Engineers / Architects and the contractor was Miron Construction Company Inc.

See: The 8th Judicial District includes Brown County, Door County, Kewaunee County, Marinette County, Oconto County and Waupaca County.

History: The county was created in 1851 and the first county seat was Grand Chute. The county had been attached to Brown County for legal purposes until 1848. The first courthouse was the residence of R P Edgarton in Appleton where the first meeting was held in 1851. The county seat was moved to Appleton in 1852 and the second courthouse was built in 1852. The third courthouse was designed by H C Koch and constructed by Daniel Stephens in 1882. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 1940 to 1942. The County Justice Center was constructed in 1990 to 1992. An addition connecting the Courthouse and Justice Center was constructed in 2017 to 2018 at a cost of $27,000,000.