Minidoka County is named for the Native American Lakota word for “a fountain or spring of water” or for the Shoshone word for “broad expanse”.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Blaine County
E – Blaine County
S – Cassia County
W – Jerome County and Lincoln County
Created: January 28, 1913
County Seat:
Rupert 1913 – present
County Courthouse – Rupert
Location: 715 G Street / 7th Street
Built: 1916 – 1917
Style: Neo-Classical Revival
Architect: L M Gates
Contractor: Krueger & Brown of Twin Falls
Description: The building faces east and is a two story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on the landscaped grounds of the Courthouse Square in the center of Rupert. The east front has a central entrance has two red colored stone columns and a red stone pediment. The cornice below the roof line is red stone. The roof line is flat. On the west side is the County Jail and Sheriff Office and on the northeast side is the County Judicial Building.
County Judicial Building – Rupert

Location: 715 G Street / 7th Street
Built: 1974 – 1975
Style: Modern
Architect: Dropping Kelley Hosford and LaMarche of Boise
Contractor: Neilsen & Company
Description: The building faces south and is a one story buff colored brick and concrete structure. . The building is located on the landscaped grounds of the Courthouse Square in the center of Rupert on the north side of the courthouse. The building has an open portico at the entrance. Vertical dividers run along the central section. The roof line is flat. In the interior is the courtroom. The building houses the County District Court and County Magistrate Court of the 5th Judicial District. The building is named as the Sherman J. Bellwood Judicial Building.
See: The architect Dropping Kelley Hosford and LaMarche of Boise designed the the courthouse in Latah County and the Idaho Supreme Court building.
See: The 5th Judicial District includes Blaine County, Camas County, Cassia County, Gooding County, Jerome County, Lincoln County and Twin Falls County.
History: The county was created in 1913 and Rupert was selected as the county seat. The county first met in the Ash Building on the north side of the Courthouse Square. The building later become the Rupert Hotel. The first and present courthouse was constructed in 1916 to 1917 at a cost of $24,000. The County Judicial Building was constructed in 1974 to 1975 at a cost of $400,000.

County Courthouse – Rupert




County Judicial Building – Rupert




Photos taken 2011