Winnebago County is named for the Winnebago Native American tribe that inhabited the area.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Faribault County, Minnesota and Freeborn County, Minnesota
E – Worth County
S – Hancock County
W – Kossuth County
Created: January 15, 1851 
County Seat:
Forest City 1857 – present
County Courthouse – Forest City
Location: 126 South Clark Street / West J Street
Built: 1894 – 1896
Style: Romanesque
Architect: Kinney & Orth
Contractor: F A Gross
Description: The building faces east and is a two story buff colored brick structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Forest City. The northeast corner has a large square brick clock tower rising five stories. The front has three arches on the first story. The base of the building is course stone. The roof is hipped. The building houses the County District Court of the 2A Judicial District. An addition was added on the west side in 2002.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Winnebago County Courthouse
See: The 2A Judicial District includes Bremer County, Butler County, Cerro Gordo County, Floyd County, Franklin County, Hancock County, Mitchell County and Worth County.
History: The county was created in 1851. The county used various premises until the first courthouse was a small two story frame structure built by Martin Bumgardner in 1877 at a cost of $3,500. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1894 to 1896 at a cost of $25,000.
County Courthouse – Forest City
Photos taken 2008 and 2012