Crow Wing County | US Courthouses

Crow Wing County is named for the Crow Wing River and is a loose translation of the Kagiwigwa or Ojibway name for the river meaning “raven feather”.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Cass County

E – Aitkin County and Mille Lacs County

S – Morrison County

W – Morrison County and Cass County

Created: May 23, 1857

County Seat:

Brainerd 1870 – present

County Courthouse – Brainerd

Location: 326 Laurel Street / South 4th Street

Built: 1919 – 1920

Style: Classical Revival

Architect: Alden and Harris of Saint Paul

Contractor: J & W A Elliot Company

Description: The building faces north and is a three story stone and concrete structure.The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Brainerd. Built of smooth cut gray colored stone, the building is 130 feet by 90 feet. Above a high rough cut stone basement on the first floor are piers and columns which reach to the third story cornice. A medallion and flagpole anchor the center of the building’s classically symmetrical features. The double glass doors with transom and sidelights are highlighted by an arch and cast iron lamp posts. The interior has polished marble floors and walls, and a balconied rotunda. A colored glass skylight dominates the dome, from which a fine brass elecytolier with white colored glass fittings hangs above wide stairways. The large Historic County District Court courtroom is located on the east side of the third story and now houses the Commissioners. The architect was Alden and Harris of Saint Paul and the contractor was J & W A Elliot Company. On the west side is the Old County Sheriff’s Residence.

County Judicial Center – Brainerd

Location: 213 Laurel Street / South 4th Street

Built: 2004 – 2006

Style: Modern

Architect: Wold Architects & Engineers

Contractor: Construction Analysis & Management

Description: The building faces east and is a three story buff colored brick, glass and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Brainerd to the northwest of the courthouse. The building has glass paneled walls with the main entrance on the first story of the east front. The roof line is flat. In the interior wide north-south hallways run along the east side of each story. The south stairwell has glass walls. There are six County District Court courtrooms along the west side of the hallways with two courtrooms each on each of the three stories. The building houses the County District Court of the 9th Judicial District.

Old County Courthouse – Brainerd

Location: 224 North 4th Street / Kingwood Street

Built: 1882 – 1883

Style: Richardson Romanesque

Architect: Charles F Haglin & Charles Morse of Minneapolis

Contractor: Charles F Haglin & Charles Morse of Minneapolis

Description: The building faces west and is a two story cream colored brick structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Brainerd to the north of the courthouse. The building has a raised basement.. The arched recessed entrance is on the north side of the west front. The windows are vertical. The roof line is flat. The cream colored bricks came from the Schwartz brickyard in Brainerd. The building is now an apartment house.

See: Charles F Haglin of Minneapolis also built the courthouse in Hennepin County.

See: The 9th Judicial District includes Aitkin County, Beltrami County, Cass County, Clearwater 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 1857 and Brainerd was selected as the county seat in 1870 when the county was organized. The county used rented premises. The first courthouse was a two story Richardson Romanesque structure at 224 4th Street and Kingwood Street built in 1882 to 1883 at a cost of $31,018. The courthouse later became an apartment house and is still standing. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1919 to 1920 at a cost of $279,398. The Judicial Center was constructed in 2004 to 2006.