Richland County - American Courthouses

Richland County is named for the rich soil in the area.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Vernon County and Sauk County

E – Sauk County

S – Iowa County and Grant County

W – Crawford County and Vernon County

Created: February 18, 1842

County Seat:

Richmond 1842 – 1852

Richland Center 1852 – present

County Courthouse – Richland Center

Location: 181 East Seminary Street / South Main Street

Built: 1889 – 1890

Style: Romanesque Revival

Architect: Truman Dudley Allen of Minneapolis, Minnesota

Contractor: Thomas Russell of Minneapolis, Minnesota

Description: The building faces east and is a three story red colored brick and stone structure. The building is located on the landscaped grounds of the courthouse Square in the center of Richland Center. The building has a raised course stone basement. The east front has a stone porch with arches on the first story and enclosed on the second story. The southeast corner has a round tower with conical roof and the northeast corner has a square red colored brick clock tower with steep roof. The roof is hipped. In the interior is a wooden staircase. The County Circuit Court courtroom is located at the center of the second story and has a high ceiling. There is a small County Circuit Court courtroom. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 7th Judicial District. The courthouse was refurbished in 1937. In 1953, the cupola, clock tower and steep gables were replaced by an electronic clock. On the west side is the County Government Center constructed in 1982 to 1983 which includes the administration and the jail. The architect was Kenton Peters & Associates of Madison and the consulting engineer was Arnold & O’Sheridan Inc.

See: The 7th Judicial District includes Adams County, Buffalo County, Clark County, Crawford County, Grant County, Iowa County, Jackson County, Juneau County, La Crosse County, Monroe County, Pepin County, Pierce County, Trempealeau County and Vernon County.

History: The county was created in 1842 and Richmond was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a two story wood frame house owned by Marvin White built in 1850. The county seat was moved to Richland Center in 1852. The second courthouse was the home of Ira S Haselton. The third courthouse was a two story frame building with cupola and courtroom on the second story built in 1857 and a jail was built of elm logs. In 1860, a fourth courthouse was built after the first burned in 1869. However, the county officials did not like the courthouse and in 1867, a judge temporarily moved proceedings to another location. The fifth and present was constructed in 1889 to 1890.