Washburn County is named for Cadwallader Washburn, who was Governor of Wisconsin from 1872 to 1874.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Douglas County
E – Sawyer County
S – Barron County
W – Burnett County
Created: March 27, 1883
County Seat:
Shell Lake 1883 – present
County Courthouse – Shell Lake
Location: 10 4th Avenue / 1st Street
Built: 1988 – 1989
Style: Modern
Architect: Bray Associates Architects Inc
Contractor: Vonasak & Schieffer Inc.
Description: The building faces north and is a two story buff colored brick, stone and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Shell Lake. The north front has pillars on the first story and the center of the second story protrudes over the entrance forming a portico and faced with a yellow colored stone which forms a pattern. The windows are narrow in a horizontal line on the second story. The roof line is flat. At the south rear of the building is a connecting hallway with the Law Enforcement Building on the southwest side. In the interior the two story lobby with open staircase is located at the center on the south side of the building. The large County Circuit Court courtroom is located along the north side of the second story. The courtroom has a high wooden ceiling and horizontal windows. At the southeast corner of the second story is the small courtroom. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 10th Judicial District.
See: The 10th Judicial District includes Ashland County, Barron County, Bayfield County, Burnett County, Chippewa County, Douglas County, Dunn County, Eau Claire County, Polk County, Rusk County, Saint Croix County and Sawyer County.
History: The county was created in 1883 and Shell Lake was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was designed by S H Leicester and constructed by N B Rundle in 1889. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1988 to 1989.
County Courthouse – Shell Lake
County Circuit Court courtroom
Small courtroom
Photos taken 2007, 2008 and 2022
Images 17*