Nicollet County is named for Joseph Nicollet, who was a geographer and explorer and who led an expedition to Minnesota, and parts of North Dakota and South Dakota.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Renville County and Sibley County
E – Le Sueur County and Blue Earth County
W – Brown County
Created: March 5, 1853 
County Seat:
Traverse des Sioux 1853 – 1859
St. Peter 1859 – present
County Courthouse – St. Peter
Location: 501 South Minnesota Avenue / East Mulberry Street
Built: 1880 – 1881
Style: Romanesque Revival / Italianate
Architect: Edward P Bassford and E W Stebbins of Saint Paul
Contractor: Bohn & Wilce of Winona
Description: The building faces west and is a three story red colored brick structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of the St. Peter. The building has light colored stone trim. The Latin word for “law” being “LEX” is over the west entrance. The west front has a high square tower with steep roof. The windows are arched and the roof is mansard. The building was extended in 1917. The architect was George Pass & Son. A pagoda like, mansard roofed addition was built to protect the front entrance in 1967. In 1978, a three story addition was added to the east side and is brick, limestone and concrete with two story arched window openings. The courtrooms are located on the second story. The architect was Wick-Kagermeier-Skaar of Mankato and the contractor was George Carlstrom. After tornado damage in 1998, a new steeple was built on the west front. Further remodeling was started in 2001 and completed in 2003. The architect was Vetter Johnson Architects, Inc. and the contractor was A W Carlstrom Construction.
See: The 5th Judicial District includes Blue Earth County, Brown County, Cottonwood County, Faribault County, Jackson County, Lincoln County, Lyon County, Martin County, Murray County, Nobles County, Pipestone County, Redwood County, Rock County and Watonwan County.
History: The county was created in 1853 and Traverse des Sioux was selected as the county seat. In 1859 the county seat was moved to St. Peter. The first courthouse was built in 1859 by the St. Peter Company at a cost of $5,000. The building burned in 1886. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1880 to 1881 at a cost of $26,638. The cost of construction of the 1978 addition was $913,512.
County Courthouse – St. Peter
photos taken 2007 and 2019