Anderson County is named for Joseph C Anderson, who was a member of the first Kansas Territorial Legislature and speaker of the House of Representatives.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Franklin County
E – Linn County
S – Allen County
W – Coffey County
Created: August 25, 1855 
County Seat:
Shannon 1856 – 1859
Garnett 1859 – present
County Courthouse – Garnett
Location: 100 East 4th Street / South Oak Street
Built: 1901 – 1902
Style: Romanesque Revival
Architect: George P Washburn
Contractor: F H Latimer & Charles W Benning
Description: The building faces west and is a three story dark red brick, limestone and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on the landscaped grounds of the Courthouse Square in the center of Garnett. The west front has a large arch at the entrance with recessed doorway. Above the entrance is a peaked roof with the statue of the Roman Goddess Justitis. On each corner of the building are round brick towers with conical roofs. On the center of the roof is a high square brick bell tower with peaked roof. The base of the building is white colored limestone. The roof is hipped with red colored clay tile. In the interior cross hallways on the first story connect with the entrances on each side of the building. In the interior there are tile floors and an iron staircase. The large County District Court courtroom is located at the southwest side of the second story. The courtroom is a green color with high ceiling and stained glass windows below the ceiling. The building houses the County District Court of the 4th Judicial District. In 1947, a slate roof replaced the original roof. Along the east side is County Law Enforcement Center.
See: The architect, George P Washburn & Sons, designed courthouses in Atchison County, Butler County, Chautauqua County, Doniphan County, Franklin County, Harper County, Kingman County, Miami County, Pratt County and Woodson County, and Beaver County in Oklahoma.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Anderson County Courthouse
See: The 4th Judicial District includes Coffey County, Franklin County and Osage County.
History: The county was created in 1855 and Shannon was selected as the county seat. The court first met at the home of Francis Myer in 1856. A contract was completed with Dr. Preston Bowen to build the courthouse at Shannon for $1000 in 1857. In 1859, the county seat was moved to Garnett and work stopped on the courthouse. The first courthouse was a two story stone structure erected in Garnett in 1868. The county jail had been erected in 1864 at a cost of $3,000. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1901 to 1902 at a cost of $75,000.
County Courthouse – Garnett
County District Court courtroom
Former County Courthouse Annex - Garnett
County Law Enforcement Center – Garnett
Photos taken 2010 and 2023