Morrison County | US Courthouses

Morrison County is named for the brothers William Morrison and Allen Morrison, who were fur traders with the American Fur Company, established trading posts from Grand Portage to the Lake of the Woods, and Allen Morrison was a representative in the first territorial legislature.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Cass County and Crow Wing County

E – Mille Lacs County

S – Benton County and Stearns County

W – Todd County

Created: February 25, 1856

County Seat:

Little Falls 1856 – present

County Courthouse – Little Falls

Location: 213 1st Avenue SE / 1st Street SE

Built: 1890 – 1891

Style: Victorian Romanesque Revival

Architect: C A Dunham

Contractor: Foster and Smith of Minneapolis

Description: The building faces west and is a two story yellow colored brick structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Little Falls. The building is constructed with yellow colored brick on a rusticated gray colored granite foundation. Granite is used for the trim. The four story tower with clock on the southwest corner, dominates the building’s towers, gables and chimneys and the roof is covered with slate shingles. In the interior are fireplaces faced with individually designed glazed titles, natural oak trim, stained glass squares and ornate brass hardware. Woodwork throughout is of natural oak. The large County District Court courtroom which has a fireplace is located at the north side of the second story. The building houses the County District Court of the 7th Judicial District.

See: National Register of Historic Places – Morrison County Courthouse

County Courthouse Annex – Little Falls

Location: 213 1st Avenue SE / 1st Street SE

Built: 1960 – 1961

Style: Modern

Architect: Unknown

Contractor: Unknown

Description: The building faces north and is a two story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of the city on the north side of the courthouse. There are horizontal bands of gray colored concrete and the roof line is flat. In 1969, a matching brick annex was added on the northeast corner of the courthouse square. The architect was Stegner, Hendrickson & McNutt. The building was connected to the Government Center on the east side in 1991.

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

County Government Center – Little Falls

Location: 213 1st Avenue SE / 1st Street SE

Built: 1989 – 1991

Style: Modern

Architect: Architecture One

Contractor: CAM Construction

Description: The building faces south and is a three story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Little Falls on the northeast side of the courthouse. The building is connected to the Courthouse Annex on the west side where a glass faced tower with steep red colored roof rises four stories. On the east side is a large three story section. The County District Court courtrooms are located at the west side of the second story. The building was renovated in 2018. The architect was BKV Group of Minneapolis and the contractor was Contegrity Group of Little Falls.

History: The county was created in 1856 and Little Falls was selected as the county seat. The first court was held at the Northern Hotel in 1856. The first courthouse was a wood frame Greek Revival style structure built by William Sturgis at a cost of $8,000 in 1860 to 1867. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1891 at a cost of $55,000. The County Courthouse Annex was constructed in 1960 to 1961. The County Government Center was constructed in 1990 to 1991.