Nobles County is named for William H Nobles, who was a member of the territorial legislature in 1854 and 1856.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Murray County
E – Jackson County
S – Osceola County, Iowa
W – Rock County
Created: May 23, 1857 
County Seat:
Worthington 1857 – present
County Government Center – Worthington
Location: 315 10th Street / 3rd Avenue
Built: 1974 – 1978
Style: Modern
Architect: A J Berreau & Associates Inc.
Contractor: Hudson Brothers General Construction – Phaase I 1974 – 1976
Loeffel-Enstrand Company – Phase II 1976 – 1978
Description: The building faces southeast and is a one story and two story castle-like concrete and glass structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Worthington. The three buildings are spread along the slight slope of the square. An outdoor plaza is sheltered by their walls. Granite, oak paneling, and fabric finishes the interior of the building. The building has a smooth gray colored granite face cut in tall blocks and which play against the texture of small granite squares, which face the topless towers bulging from the building sides. The main floors jut out above the foundation in and along the top edge. The northeast section is two story building with no windows on the south side. The west section is one story building with a glass atrium connecting the sections. The building is named as the Nobles County Government Center. The building was constructed in two phases. In 2017, the building was renovated. The architect was Falls Architect of Sioux Falls, South Dakota and the contractor was Ideal Landscape of Worthington.
County Justice Center – Worthington
Location: 1530 Airport Road / Highway 59
Built: 2000 – 2002
Style: Modern
Architect: Steve Johnson, Vetter-Johnson Architects of Minneapolis
Contractor: E & V Consultants and Construction Managers
Description: The building faces west and is a one story concrete and red colored brick structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds to the north of the center of Worthington. The building is “L” shaped with a north wing and a long east wing and is named as the Prairie Justice Center. The main entrance with high curved roof atrium is along the west side at the junction of the north wing and east wing. A curved portico is over the doorway. The roof line is flat. In the interior is a high entrance lobby with entrance to the courts on the north side. There are three County District Court courtrooms along the north side of the east-west corridor. The small courtroom is located at the center with the two large courtrooms on the east side. The building houses the County District Court of the 5th Judicial District.
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, Nicolett County, Pipestone County, Redwood County, Rock County and Watonwan County.
History: The county was created in 1857 and Worthington was selected as the county seat in 1873. The county was organized in 1870 and occupied rental premises. The first courthouse was a two story frame structure built in 1877 at a cost of $1,124. The second courthouse was a three story brick structure designed by Albert Bryon and constructed by J D Carroll in 1894 at a cost of $42,469. The building was remodeled in 1954 and demolished when the present courthouse was constructed. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1974 to 1978 at a cost of $3,600,000. Construction was completed in three stages. The County Justice Center was constructed in 2000 to 2002.
County Government Center – Worthington
County Justice Center – Worthington
County District Court courtroom
County District Court small courtroom
Photos taken 2007, 2017 and 2023