Mille Lacs County | US Courthouses

Mille Lacs County is named for the French words meaning “thousand lakes”.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Aitkin County

E – Kanabec County and Isanti County

S – Sherburne County

W – Benton County, Morrison County and Crow Wing County

Created: May 23, 1857

County Seat:

Princeton 1857 – 1920

Milaca 1920 – present

County Courthouse – Milaca

Location: 525 2nd Street SE / 5th Avenue SE

Built: 1922 – 1923

Style: Classical Revival

Architect: Croft & Boener Inc. of Minneapolis

Contractor: J A MacDonald Construction of Minneapolis

Description: The building faces north and is a two story limestone structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Milaca. The building has a raised basement and has a projecting center section with doorway on the first story. Above the doorway is a small iron balcony and large window. The roof line is flat. The interior has black colored banded terrazzo floors and prairie school geometrics in the leaded glass of the skylight above the octagonal atrium. Iron grillwork, in which the initials “ML” have been cast, covers the glass entry door. The monogram is repeated in the decorative iron railing of the marble steps that rise from the front door to the first level and continue, reversing their angle to the second story. Red wood paneling and other woodwork is used throughout the building. The former County District Court courtroom is located on the east side of the second story. The building was renovated in 1978. The architect was Johnson – Forberg Associates of Minneapolis and the contractor was Lunn Construction Company of Milaca.

See: National Register of Historic Places – Mille Lacs County Courthouse

County Justice Center – Milaca

Location: 225 6th Avenue SE / 2nd Street SE

Built: 2008 – 2010

Style: Modern

Architect: Vetter Johnson Architects of Minneapolis

Contractor: Contegrity Group Inc. of Little Falls

Description: The building faces west and is a two story gray colored concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Milaca on the south side of the courthouse. The west front has an entrance with glass panel section rising to the flat roof line. On the south side is a two story rectangular section. In the interior the corridors run east-west. The County District Court courtrooms are located along the south side of the second story. The building houses the County District Court of the 7th Judicial District.

See: The 7th Judicial District includes Becker County, Benton County, Clay County, Douglas County, Morrison County, Otter Tail County, Stearns County, Todd County and Wadena County.

History: The county was created in 1857 and Princeton was sel;ected as the county seat. However court continued to meet in Sauk Rapids in Benton County. The first courthouse in Princeton was designed by H R Hamilton and built by W F Chadbourn in 1888 at a cost of $10,000. The courthouse was torn down in 1945. The county seat was moved to Milaca in 1920. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1922 to 1923 at a cost of $150,000. The County Justice Center was constructed in 2008 to 2010 at a cost of 9,400,000.