Rock County is named for the Rock River which flows through the county.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Dane County and Jefferson County
E – Walworth County
S – Boone County, Illinois and Winnebago County, Illinois
W – Green County
Created: December 7, 1836
County Seat:
Janesville 1836 – present
County Courthouse – Janesville
Location: 51 South Main Street / Court Street
Built: 1954 – 1955
Style: Modern
Architect: Carl Lloyd Ames of Milwaukee
Contractor: J P Cullen of Janesville
Description: The building faces south and is a five story buff colored brick, glass and concrete structure. The building rises north up a landscaped slope in the center of Janesville. The south center section is rounded with supporting pillars on the first story at the entrance. The building has square lines with large corner windows. On the west side is a square tower. The roof line is flat. In the interior are buff-yellow colored brick, chrome fixtures and Art Deco decoration. The hallways are spacious and natural light enters from large windows. There are seven County Circuit Court courtrooms and four hearing rooms. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 5th Judicial Circuit. An addition was built in 1996 to 1997 on the site of the old Court House along the south side. The architect was Kenton Peters of Madison and the contractor was Miron Construction of Neenah.
See: The 5th Judicial District includes Columbia County, Dane County, Green County, Lafayette County and Sauk County.
History: The county was created in 1836 and Janesville was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was built in 1847 to 1848. The building burned in 1859. The county used rented premises until the second courthouse was built which was a three story structure designed by J Townsend Mix and constructed by James & Rotheram in 1870 at a cost of $124,673. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1954 to 1955. An addition was constructed in 1996 to 1997.
County Courthouse – Janesville
County Circuit Court courtroom
County Circuit Court courtroom
Photos taken 2005, 2008 and 2024
Images 18*