Clearwater County is named for the Clearwater River which flows through the county and has clear water.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Shoshone County
E – Mineral County, Montana and Missoula County, Montana
S – Idaho County
W – Lewis County, Nez Perce County and Latah County
Created: March 3, 1911 
County Seat:
Orofino 1912 – present
County Courthouse – Orofino
Location: 150 Michigan Avenue / Main Street
Built: 1928 – 1929
Style: Federal
Architect: Charles I Carpenter
Contractor: Fred D Hammond of Orofino
Description: The building faces southeast and is a two story red colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped in the center of Orofino, The building has a concrete foundation. The southeast entrance has four columns rising to a header on the first story. The roof line is flat. In the interior, the floors are hardwood. The County District Court courtroom is located on the northeast side of the second story. The circular shaped County Magistrate Court courtroom is located at the center of the southwest side of the second story. The building houses the County District Court and County Magistrate Court of the 2nd Judicial District. An addition was constructed on the northwest side in 1976. The architect was Architectural Workshop Architects and the contractor was Hollibaugh Construction Company.
Note: During construction of the courthouse the bid from Fred D Hammond of Orofino was $43,700. The plumbing and heating was awarded to Powell & DeLong of Moscow at $5,705 and the electrical was awarded to Brown-Johnstone of Spokane, Washington at $1,120. E W Jewell did the excavation work.
See: The 2nd Judicial District includes Idaho County, Latah County, Lewis County and Nez Perce County.
History: The county was created in 1911 and Orofino was selected as the county seat in 1912. The county rented office premises. The first and present courthouse was constructed in 1928 to 1929 at a cost of $61,431.
See: Located in the county is the old Shoshone County courthouse at Pierce. When the county was part of Shoshone County, a courthouse was built at Pierce in 1862 and served until 1885 when the county seat was moved to Murray.
County Courthouse – Orofino
County District Court courtroom
County Magistrate Court courtroom
Photos taken 2009, 2016 and 2022