Beltrami County | US Courthouses

Beltrami County is named for Giacomo Constantino Beltrami, who was an Italian explorer and who explored the Mississippi River in 1823.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Roseau County and Lake of the Woods County

E – Koochiching County and Itasca County

S – Cass County and Hubbard County

W – Clearwater County, Pennington County and Marshall County

Created: February 28, 1866

County Seat:

Bemidji 1866 – present

County Courthouse – Bemidji

Location: 619 Beltrami Avenue NW / 7th Street NW

Built: 1902 – 1903

Style: Beaux Arts

Architect: Kinney and Detwiler of Minneapolis

Contractor: Schmidt Brothers of West Superior, Wisconsin

Description: The building faces east and is a three story red colored sandstone and red colored brick structure. The building is located on spacious grounds in the center of Bemidji with the Judicial Center on the southwest side and the Jail on the northwest side. The 82 foot square building has a strong central pavilion with portico and smaller end pavilions. Above the portico are three round windows in the center of the building and above rests an arcaded tower topped with a convex dome and statue representing Blind Justice. The space in which a clock might be located is glassed in and was used as a skylight. The former courtroom on the second story has been converted into office space. In 1973, a large brick and glass addition was added on the northeast to house the Judicial Courts.

See: The architect and contractor also designed and constructed the courthouse in Cass County.

See: National Register of Historic Places – Beltrami County Courthouse

County Judicial Center – Bemidji

Location: 600 Minnesota Avenue NW / 6th Street NW

Built: 2006 – 2007

Style: Modern

Architect: Stanius Johnson Architects of Duluth

Contractor: CAM ( Construction Analysis and Management Inc. ) of Minneapolis

Description: The building faces west and is a four story brick, stone and concrete structure. The building is located in the center of Bemidji on the south side of the courthouse. The square shaped building has dark red colored stone on the first story and buff colored brick on the upper stories. On the west side is a central projecting section rising three stories with entrance on the first story. The corners of the building project slightly from the main building. Below the roof line is a projecting cornice. The roof line is flat. In the interior there are five County District Court courtrooms. The building houses the County District Court of the 9th Judicial District.

See: The 9th Judicial District includes Aitkin County, Cass County, Clearwater County, Crow Wing County, Hubbard County, Itasca County, Kittson County, Koochiching County, Lake of the Woods County, Mahnomen County, Marshall County, Norman County, Pennington County, Polk County, Red Lake County and Roseau County.

History: The county was created in 1866 and Bemidji was selected as the county seat When the county was organized in 1897, the first courthouse was a store on the corner of Fourth Street and Beltrami Avenue. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1902 to 1903 at a cost of $39,975. In 1973, the addition was constructed at a cost of $550,000.The Judicial Center was constructed in 2006 to 2007.

County Administration Building – Bemidji

Location: 701 Minnesota Avenue NW / 6th Street NW

Built: 2004 – 2005

Style: Modern

Architect: Stanius Johnson Architects of Duluth

Contractor: CAM ( Construction Analysis and Management Inc. ) of Minneapolis

Description: The building faces east and is a two story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Bemidji. The east front has a small one story portico with central entrance. The corner windows on the second story are arched. Along the flat roof line is a projecting cornice.