Thomas County is named for Major General George H Thomas, of the United States Army who died in 1870.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Rawlins County
E – Sheridan County
S – Gove County and Logan County
W – Sherman County
Created: March 20, 1873 
County Seat:
Colby 1885 – present
County Courthouse – Colby
Location: 300 North Court Avenue / West 3rd Street
Built: 1906 – 1907
Style: Richardsonian Romanesque
Architect: J C Holland and Company of Topeka and Frank C Squires of Topeka
Contractor: L Crosby & Son
Description: The building faces west and is a three story dark red colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Colby. The building has a raised basement. The building has a high central tower with clock and steep roof at the top. The west front has steps up to a large Syrian arch with recessed entrance. The north and south sections project from the main building and rise to peaked dormers at the roof. The roof is hipped. In the interior there are old fireplaces, wood stairs and wood trim. The former courtroom is located on the east side of the third story and now houses the Commissioner’s Meeting Room.
Note: The contract for the plumbing and electric wiring was awarded to F A Louis of Colby for $3,638 and the contract for the steel fixtures was let to Art Metal Construction Co. of St. Louis for $1,350.
See: The architect, J C Holland and Company of Topeka, designed courthouses in Clay County, Geary County and Mitchell County; and in Nebraska in Jefferson County. Holland and Son designed courthouses in Ness County and Rice County. With Frank C Squires, he designed courthouses in Riley County. With Charles W Squires, he designed courthouses in Marion County and Osborne County.
See: The architect, Frank C Squires of Topeka, designed courthouses in Riley County and Rooks County.
County Justice Center – Colby
Location: 275 North Court Avenue / West 2nd Street
Built: 2018 – 2020
Style: Modern
Architect: TreanorHL Architects of Lawrence
Contractor: KBS Constructors Inc. of Topeka
Description: The building faces west and is a
Built in 2018, the modern building is a two story dark red and olive colored brick and concrete structure. The building faces west and was completed in 2020. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Colby on the east side of the courthouse. The building has a high central red colored brick tower and steep roof at the top. The entrance is arched with glass panel walls. A horizontal white colored band run between the first and second stories. In the interior is an open lobby with stairs ascending to the second story. The two County District Court courtrooms are located on the east side of the second story near the central entrance. The building houses the County District Court of the 15th Judicial District. The building contains the jail. The architect was TreanorHL Architects of Lawrence and the contractor was KBS Constructors Inc. of Topeka.
See: The 15th Judicial District includes Cheyenne County, Logan County, Rawlins County, Sheridan County, Sherman County and Wallace County.
History: The county was created in 1873 and Colby was selected as the county seat in 1885 when the county was organized. The first courthouse was a two story rectangular shaped frame structure built by Hines & Stout in 1886. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1906 to 1907 at a cost of $48,327. The County Justice Center was constructed in 2018 to 2020 at a cost of $15,300,000.
County Courthouse – Colby
Commissioner’s Meeting Room ( former courtroom )
Spirit of the Prairie Statue
County Justice Center – Colby
Photos taken 2007 and 2022