Olmsted County is named for David Olmsted, who was the first mayor of St. Paul and who was a member of the territorial legislature from 1849 to 1850.
urrounding Oounty Courthouses:
N – Goodhue County and Wabasha County
E – Winona County
S – Fillmore County and Mower County
W – Dodge County
Created: February 20, 1855 
County Seat:
Rochester 1857 – present
County Courthouse – Rochester
Location: 151 4th Street SE / 1st Avenue SE
Built: 1992 – 1993
Style: Modern
Architect: Korsunsky, Krane & Erickson
Contractor: Adolfson & Peterson, Inc. of Minneapolis
Description: The building faces southeast and is a six story red colored brick, glass and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Rochester. Along the east front of the first story, the building has square concrete pillars with glass windows between each pillar. The windows on the top stories are vertical, divided by concrete and red colored brick dividers. The courtrooms are located on the fifth and sixth stories. The building houses the County District Court of the 3rd Judicial District. The building forms the northwest part of the Olmsted County Government Center with the Rochester City Hall along the east side.
Old County Courthouse – Rochester
Location: 515 2nd Street SW / 6th Avenue SW
Built: 1957 – 1958
Style: International Corporate
Architect: Daniel Robbins & Associates
Contractor: Unknown
Description: The building faces south and is a two story stone, aluminum, glass and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Rochester. The building is now part of the Mayo Clinic known as the Ozmun Building. Additions were made in 1976 to 1977. The architect was BWBR Architects.
See: The 3rd Judicial District includes Dodge County, Fillmore County, Freeborn County, Houston County, Mower County, Rice County, Steele County, Wabasha County, Waseca County and Winona County.
History: The county was created in 1855 and Rochester was selected as the county seat. in 1857 The first courthouse was a school house on the banks of the Zumbro River at 106 Fifth Street SE. In 1857, the second courthouse was a hall built by Charles Lindsley at 301 North Broadway, known as Broadway House The courtroom was on the second story. The third courthouse was a brick and stone structure designed by A F Knight of St. Paul and constructed by J H Grindall of St. Paul in 1866 at a cost of $32,000. In 1883, a cyclone lifted the dome and crashed it through the roof. A new dome was constructed in 1892 topped by a metal statue of Justice. The building was remodeled in 1902 and an addition was built in 1929. The fourth courthouse was constructed in 1957 to 1958 at a cost of $1,600,000. Corners were added on the north side in 1976 to 1977 at a cost of $500,000. The fifth and present courthouse was constructed at a cost of $22,500,000.
County Government Center – Rochester
Picture 1867 Countuy Courthouse
Old County Courthouse – Rochester
Photos taken 2007 and 2017