Rice County is named for Henry Mower Rice, who was one of the first two United States Senators from Minnesota during 1858 to 1863.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Scott County and Dakota County
E – Goodhue County
S – Steele County and Waseca County
W – Le Sueur County
Created: March 15, 1853 
County Seat:
Faribault 1853 – present
County Courthouse – Faribault
Location: 218 3rd Street NW / 3rd Avenue NW
Built: 1932 – 1934
Style: Moderne
Architect: Nairne W Fisher of St. Cloud
Contractor: Maurice Schmacher of Minneapolis
Description: The building faces south and is a three story stone structure with formal classical lines. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Faribault and is 134 feet by 98 feet. Metal grillwork accentuates the three tall window opening in the central face, and also decorates the doorway and the spandrels of the windows recessed between heavy, pier like features. Natural face Faribault stone is horizontally banded at intervals with sawed faced stone. In the interior, the central rotunda has a Moderne stair and fixtures of metal and glass in the Art Deco style. Walls, floors and stairs are polished black and grey Tennessee marble and the black color is prominent in the inlaid borders around pastel colored floors. Directly below the dome on the rotunda floor is a map of Rice County made of terrazzo. The County District Court courtroom is located on the third story and is finished with fine-grained walnut walls 16 feet high with matching custom-built furnishings. The building houses the County District Court of the 3rd Judicial District. In 2006, the building was renovated. The architect was Wold Architects and Engineers. On the east side is the old County Jail and on the west side is the County Administration Building.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Rice County Courthouse
See: The 3rd Judicial District includes Dodge County, Fillmore County, Freeborn County, Houston County, Mower County, Olmsted County, Steele County, Wabasha County, Waseca County and Winona County.
History: The county was created in 1853 and Cannon City was selected as the county seat. In 1855 the county seat was moved to Faribault. In 1857 buildings for the offices of the register of deeds and treasurer and the county jail were erected. The court met in several locations until the first courthouse was designed by C N Daniels and constructed by S J Hoban in 1874. An addition was constructed in 1924. The building burned in 1931. The second and present courthouse was constructed at a cost of $200,000.
County Administration Building – Faribault
Location: 320 3rd Street NW / 4th Avenue SW
Built: 1996 – 1907
Style: Modern
Architect: Unknown
Contractor: Unknown
Description: The building faces south and is a one story buff colored brick and concrete structure with formal classical lines. The building is located on landscaped ground in the center of Faribault to the west of the courthouse. The building has a central entrance on the south side. The roof line is flat.
County Courthouse – Faribault
County District Court courtroom
County Administration Building – Faribault
Photos taken 2007, 2017 and 2023