Chisago County is named after the county’s largest lake, Ki-chi-sago meaning “large” and “lovely” in Ojibway. The county name was to be “Chisaga” but due to an error, it became “Chisago”.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Pine County
E – Burnett County, Wisconsin and Polk County, Wisconsin
S – Washington County and Anoka County
W – Isanti County
Created: September 1, 1851 
County Seat:
Taylor Falls 1851 – 1865
Chiago City 1865 – 1876
Center City 1876 – present
County Courthouse – Center City
Location: 313 North Main Street / 2nd Street
Built: 1973 – 1974
Style: Modern
Architect: Freeks, Sperl, Flynn
Contractor: D J Kranz.
Description: The building faces northeast and is a two story cream colored concrete and glass structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Center City. The building is named as the Chisago County Government Center. The building has the main entrance at the junction of the southwest and northwest wings. There are few windows in the building and the roof line is flat. In the interior there are three County District Court courtrooms located along the southwest side of the second story. The building houses the County District Court of the 10th Judicial District. The building was enlarged and renovated in 1989 to 1990. The architect was Klein McCarthy and Company Ltd. of Minneapolis and the contractor was Knudson Construction Company.
Old County Courthouse – Palmdale
Location: Almelund Threshing Bee Fairgrounds
Built: 1875 – 1876
Style: Federal
Architect: John L Bullard
Contractor: John L Bullard
Description: The building faces west and is a two story white colored wood structure. The building was moved from the original site in Center City to the grounds of the Almelund Threshing Bee next to the Clover Blossom School. The west front has a projecting center section with entrance on the first story and double vertical windows on the second story. The windows are arched. The roof is hipped. The building served as the courthouse until 1990.
See: The 10th Judicial District includes Anoka County, Isanti County, Kanabec County, Pine County, Sherburne County, Washington County and Wright County.
History: The county was created in 1851 and Taylor Falls was selected as the county seat. The first meeting of the County Commissioners in 1852 was held at the residence of Samuel Thompson. The first courthouse erected was a wood frame structure. The county seat was moved to Chisago City in 1865 and the courthouse building was moved to the new location. The county seat was moved to Center City in 1876 and the second courthouse was a wood frame structure built by John Bullard in 1875 to 1876. The building was moved to Palmdale in 1990. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1973 to 1974.
County Courthouse – Center City
County District Court courtroom
Old County Courthouse – Palmdale
Pictures taken 2007, 2008, 2010, 2015 and 2022