Otter Tail County is named after Otter Tail Lake and Otter Tail River. The lake received its name from the Ojibway words for a long and narrow sand bar that was shaped like an otter’s tail.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Clay County and Becker County
E – Wadena County and Todd County
S – Douglas County and Grant County
W – Wilkin County and Clay County
Created: March 18, 1858 
County Seat:
Otter Tail City 1868 – 1872
Fergus Falls 1872 – present
County Courthouse – Fergus Falls
Location: 121 West Junius Avenue / South Mill Street
Built: 1921 – 1922
Style: Classical Revival
Architect: Buechener and Orth of Saint Paul
Contractor: L P Jorgenson
Description: The building faces north and is a three story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Fergus Falls. The foundation of the building is Bedford stone. The building is anchored by an entrance under a segmentally curved pediment. The two-story Ionic columns and flat pilasters rise to a cornice and parapet from the second story to the third story. The roof line is flat. In the interior there is a grand staircase and a central rotunda with murals and stained glass. Decoration includes otters on each doorknob manufactured by Sargeant Lock Company. The main courtroom is located on the third story and another courtroom is located along the south side. The building houses the County District Court of the 7th Judicial District. In 1962, an office annex was added on the east side. In 1972, the driveway between the buildings was eliminated and the two buildings were joined with an addition. In 2012 to 2014 a two story buff colored brick and concrete addition was constructed on the south side. The architect was Shultz & Associates Architects and the contractor was Comstock Construction Inc.
See: The architect Buechiner & Orth of St. Paul, Minnesota designed many courthouses.
See: National; register of Historic Places – Otter Tail County Courthouse
County Justice Center – Fergus Falls
Location: 121 West Junius Avenue / South Mill Street
Built: Unknown
Style: Modern
Architect: Klein McCarthy Group
Contractor: Unknown
Description: The building faces north and is a five story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Fergus Falls on the east side of the courthouse. The lower section is dark red colored stone. The top story has large windows and the roof line is flat. Named as the Justice Center the building contains courtrooms on the upper story.
See: The 7th Judicial District includes Becker County, Benton County, Clay County, Douglas County, Mille Lacs County, Morrison County, Otter Tail County, Stearns County, Todd County and Wadena County.
History: The county was created in 1858 and Otter Tail City was designated as the county seat in 1868. The county seat was moved to Fergus Falls in 1872. The first courthouse was designed by E P Bassford and built by Stanford Brothers in 1880 and was destroyed by windstorms. The cost of construction in 1921 to 1922 of the second and present courthouse was $322,000.
County Courthouse – Fergus Falls
County Courthouse Annex – Fergus Falls
County Courthouse Addition – Fergus Falls
Photos taken 2007, 2008, 2017 and 2019