Labette County is named for the French word meaning ”the beet” which is a vegetable.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Neosho County
E – Crawford County and Cherokee County
S – Craig County, Oklahoma and Nowata County, Oklahoma
Created: February 7,1867 
County Seat:
Oswego 1867 – present
County Courthouse – Oswego
Location: 517 Merchant Street / 6th Street
Built: 1948 – 1949
Style: Art Deco
Architect: Thomas W Williamson and Company of Topeka
Contractor: Dalton Construction Company of Joplin, Missouri
Description: The building faces east and is a three story cream colored stone face and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Oswego. The building has a raised basement. The east front has a projecting central section with four dividing pillars between the entrance doors on the first story and the windows on the second and third stories. There are vertical orange colored panels between the windows. At the top of the south side is wording “JUSTICE”, and on the north side is *EQUALITY”. In the interior there is an entrance lobby with dual staircases rising to the third story. The County District Court courtroom is located on the third story at the center of the west side of the building. The courtroom has wood paneling. The building houses the County District Court of the 11th Judicial District.
County Judicial Center – Parsons
Location: 201 South Central Avenue / Katy Drive
Built: 1979 – 1980
Style: Modern
Architect: Peters, Williams, Kubata of Lawrence
Contractor: Midland Development Inc. of Independence, Kansas
Description: The building faces east and is a one story red colored brick and concrete structure. The square shaped building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Parsons. The east front has a recessed glass entrance on the north side. The roof line is flat. In the interior, a wide corridor extends west from the entrance lobby with two County District Court courtrooms, one on the north side and the other on the south side. The courtrooms have a circular design. The building houses the County District Court of the 11th Judicial District.
See: The 11th Judicial District includes Cherokee County and Crawford County.
History: The county was created in 1967 and Oswego was selected as the county seat. The first courts met on the second story of the Buntain Building and on the second story of the Fleming Building in Oswego. The first courthouse was a one story frame building erected in 1868 and transferred to the county in 1869. The second courthouse was a stone structure erected by J H Swain in 1869. In 1870, an addition was built by Reverend Joseph A Cox at a cost of $900. The third courthouse was built by H C Hall and C O Perkins in 1880. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 1948 to 1949. The County Judicial Center was constructed in Parsons in 1979 to 1980.
County Courthouse – Oswego
County District Court courtroom
County Judicial Center – Parsons
County District Court courtroom
Photos taken 2009 and 2022