Stevens County is named after Isaac Ingalls Stevens, who directed the surveys for the construction of a Pacific railroad and was Governor of the Washington Territory 1853-1857, delegate to Congress 1857-1861 and general in the Civil War.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Grant County
E – Pope County
S – Swift County and Big Stone County
W – Big Stone County and Traverse County
Created: February 20, 1862 
County Seat:
Morris 1862 – present
County Courthouse – Morris
Location: 400 Colorado Avenue / East 5th Street
Built: 2010 – 2011
Style: Modern
Architect: Klein McCarthy Architects of Minneapolis
Contractor: Contegnity Construction Management of Little Falls
Description: The building faces southwest and is a two story red-orange colored brick, concrete and glass structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Morris. The building is a remodel of the old courthouse with an addition on the east side. The center section projects from the main building and has a glass front. On the east side is a length of glass wall with brick section at the east end. The building is set in the side of a slope and there is section on the north. In the interior there is a high entrance lobby on the south side with a wide wood paneled lobby on the north side where stairs ascend to the second story. Along the west side of the second story are the two County District Court courtrooms. The building houses the County District Court of the 8th Judicial District. Along the north side is the County Jail.
Old County Courthouse ( demolished ) – Morris
Location: 400 Colorado Avenue / East 5th Street
Built: 1957 – 1958
Style: Modern
Architect: Foss and Company of Fargo, North Dakota
Contractor: Larson Construction Company.
Description: The building faced southwest and was a two story brick, concrete and glass structure. The building was located on landscaped grounds in the center of Morris. The building was a low horizontal structure and was 225 feet by 65 feet. The building had a wide blue-green metal panel separating the two floors and a line of ribbed canopy shadowing a row of upper windows. The building was extended by a 40 feet by 60 foot wing on the north side. There was a flat roof, curtain wall of glass and metal and a brick faced concrete frame. The building was demolished in 2010 and replaced on the same site by the current courthouse.
See: The 8th Judicial District includes Big Stone County, Chippewa County, Grant County, Kandiyohi County, Lac Qui Parle County, Meeker County, Pope County, Renville County, Swift County, Traverse County, Wilkin County and Yellow Medicine County.
History: The county was created in 1862 and Morris was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a two story wood structure built in Morris in 1872. The second courthouse designed by E P Basford of St Paul and built by A Whittemore of Montevideo in 1884. The third courthouse was constructed in 1957 to 1958 at a cost of $383,168. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 2010 to 2011.
County Courthouse – Morris
County District Court courtroom
County District Court small courtroom
Old County Courthouse ( demoloished ) – Morris
Photos taken 2007, 2012 and 2023