Clearwater County is named after the Clearwater River and Clearwater Lake and in Ojibway the translation is “Ga-wakomitigweia”.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Beltrami County
E – Beltrami County and Hubbard County
S – Becker County
W – Mahnomen County, Polk County and Pennington County
Created: December 20, 1902 
County Seat:
Bagley 1902 – present
County Courthouse – Bagley
Location: 213 Main Avenue North / 1st Street NW
Built: 1937 – 1938
Style: Moderne
Architect: Foss and Company of Fargo, North Dakota
Contractor: A Hedenberg & Company of Duluth
Description: The building faces east and is a three story buff colored brick and concrete structure with square lines. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Bagley. The building is 60 feet by 100 feet and the entrance is defined by large glass windows and sidelights that rise two stories. The original face brick was motored over to give the building a smooth surface. Symmetrically arranged windows and a central doorway are trimmed in green color. The roof line is flat. In the interior, the building has plastered walls while the County District Court courtroom located on the second story is finished in mahogany veneer. On the north side is a large meting room. The building houses the County District Court of the 9th Judicial District. The building was renovated in 1986. The architect was Thomas C Jones of Clearbrook and the contractor was Watson Brothers of Grand Rapids. An addition was constructed in 1998. The architect was Richard Rude and the contractor was Gordon Construction.
See: The architect Foss Associates Architects also designed courthouses in Becker County, Clay County and Pennington County and in North Dakota in Billings County, Cavalier County, Morton County and Ramsey County.
See: The 9th Judicial District includes Aitkin County, Beltrami County, Cass 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 1902 and Bagley was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a two story frame structure built in 1903 on the present site. An addition was built in 1916. The architect was R F Broomhall. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1937 to 1938.
County Courthouse – Bagley
Meeting Room
County District Court courtroom
Photos taken 2007 and 2019