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| History
of the Otter Tail County Courthouse
Fergus Falls, Minnesota |
 The
Minnesota State Legislature made Fergus Falls
the county seat in 1872. The building, located
at 121 West Junius, has been the seat of county
government since 1922. The original courthouse
occupying this site was built in 1881 and was
destroyed by the cyclone of 1919. The cyclone
demolished the top two floors of the building,
leaving the first floor intact. Action taken
by the county commissioners put a roof over
the remaining first story. This gave sufficient
space for several county offices.
 It
was not until the spring of 1920 that state
legislature mandated that a new, larger building
should be erected for the county. Buechner and
Orth, an architectural firm from St. Paul, drew
up plans for this Beaux Arts design courthouse.
Specifications included general work, plumbing,
heating, ventilating, electric wiring, furniture,
electric light fixtures and decorations. L.P.
Jorgenson of St. Paul, was contracted for the
general construction of the building. A dome
was proposed in the original plans but was omitted
to allow money to be spent on metal doors and
frames, and addition that would help make the
building fireproof.
 Ground
was broken on May 4, 1921, and the courthouse
was opened to the public in December of 1922.
COURTHOUSE EXTERIOR The
three story cream colored brick and Bedford
limestone building is in the Beaux Arts Classicism
style. The front entrance consists of glass
and bronze doors with an arched opening and
cast iron lamp posts. Stone pillars support
a carved, stone eagle architrave. Side entries
are of the same design, but are without the
eagle. The foundation is made of stone, while
the first floor is of brick laid in horizontal
bands. The second and third stories have paired
columns and brick pilasters. Stone balustrades
are set below the second floor windows and between
the columns and pilasters. An interior dome
is by a flat roof with a parapet wall.
 In
1973 a law enforcement center was added to the
rear of the courthouse. A new county jail was
added to the east side of the building in 1987.
The details of the new facilities mimic that
of the original courthouse.
COURTHOUSE INTERIOR
 The
main interior attraction is the false dome.
Four paintings done on canvas and glued to the
ceiling, are thought to have been commissioned
by an artist named Holloway. The four paintings
seem to depict people who were influential in
the development of the county - a Native American,
a fur-trader, settlers arriving in covered wagons
and settlers plowing and seeding the land. The
interior dome is of stained glass and is protected
on the outside by glass enclosures.
The county's symbol (at left) is repeated many
times throughout the building. Door knobs commissioned
by the architect are adorned with brass molded
otters. Above each otter are the letters "OTC."
Other attractions in the building are the W/P/A/
paintings that are hung on the first floor.
These include "Market Day in Pelican Rapids-1882,"
"First Saw Mill at New York Mills,"
"First Electric Light Plant and Dam,"
and the "Cyclone at Fergus Falls."
The paintings were commissioned by the Otter
Tail County Historical Society during the depression
and printed by Charles Grant, a Minnesota artist.
The Works Project Art Program originated as
a relief project for unemployed artists. Several
murals depicting the townships of the county
were painted on the walls of the courthouse
offices, but most were lost when the rooms were
painted. 
The building was listed on the National
Register of Historic Places in 1984.
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