Mower County is named for John E Mower, who was a member of the council in the territorial legislature in 1854 and 1855, and a state representative in 1874 and 1875.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Dodge County and Olmsted County
E – Fillmore County
S – Howard County, Iowa, Mitchell County, Iowa and Winnebago County, Iowa
W – Freeborn County
Created: February 20, 1855 
County Seat:
Austin 1855 – present
County Courthouse – Austin
Location: 201 1st Street NE / 1st Avenue NE
Built: 1952 – 1953
Style: Modern
Architect: Liebenberg, Kaplan, Glotter of Minneapolis
Contractor: Wagner Construction Company of Austin
Description: The building faces north and is a two story concrete and glass structure. The building is located in the center of Austin and is constructed in an “L” shape. The building is flat, rectangular and is made of pink Kasota limestone and gray Bedford stone from Indiana. The first section, built in 1952 as an addition to the old Court House, is 59 feet by 121 feet, and has deep horizontal windows on a long façade along the east side of the block. The 1966 section, with square windows randomly placed, is slightly larger and is perpendicular to the first section with its narrow end to the east. A glass fronted lobby acts as a connecting concourse between the two sections. In 1966, a further addition was constructed. The architect was Liebenberg, Kaplan, Glotter of Minneapolis and the contractor was Wagner Construction Company of Austin. In 1975, a one story Law Enforcement Center was added directly behind the width of the lobby. The architect was Liebenberg, Kaplan, Glotter of Minneapolis and the contractor was Wagner Construction Company of Austin. The building was remodeled in 1997 to 1999 when an entrance was added to connect to east and south wings. The architect was Wold Architects and Engineers and the contractor was Bosshardt Corporation, CM. The building served as the Court House until 2010.
County Justice Center – Austin
Location: 201 2nd Avenue NE / 1st Street NE
Built: 2008 – 2010
Style: Modern
Architect: KKE Architects Inc.
Contractor: Knudson Construction Services
Description: The building faces south and is a two story concrete and glass structure. The building is located in the center of Austin to the northeast of the courthouse. The building is constructed with projecting section from the square center section. The south front has a projecting glass panel section with entrance on the first story. On the east side of the front, the windows are large and vertical. The roof line is flat. In the intererior, the County District Court courtrooms are located on the second story. The building houses the County District Court of the 3rd Judicial District.
See: The 3rd Judicial District includes Dodge County, Fillmore County, Freeborn County, Houston County, Olmsted County, Rice County, Steele County, Wabasha County, Waseca County and Winona County.
History: The county was created in 1855 and Austin was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was built in 1869 at a cost of $6,450. The second courthouse was designed by W H Dennis and built by Wagner Construction in 1884 at a cost of $64,817. The addition constructed in 1952 became the third and present courthouse when the former courthouse was demolished. The County Justice Center was constructed in 2008 to 2010.
County Courthouse – Austin
Picture 1884 County Courthouse
County Justice Center – Austin
County District Court courtroom
Photos taken 2007 and 2017