Watonwan County is named for the Watonwan River which name comes from the Dakota word “watanwan” meaning “where fish bait abounds”.
Surrounding Courthouses:
N – Brown County
S – Martin County
Created: February 25,1860 
County Seat:
Madelia 1860 – 1878
St. James 1878 – present
County Courthouse – St. James
Location: 710 2nd Avenue South / 7th Street South
Built: 1895 – 1896
Style: Richardsonian Romanesque Revival
Architect: H C Gerlach
Contractor: Otto Kleinschmidt of Mankato
Description: The building faces north and is a two story red colored brick and Indiana limestone structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of St. James. The building has asymmetric features, towers and pavilions. Marble pillars at the front support three arches of limestone. The roof is hipped. The interior has fireplaces in some offices, tile floors in the corridors, and red colored oak wainscoting, trim, stairways, counters, and furniture. The hallways are of rust and white polished tile. The second story County District Court courtroom had a recessed dome with large chandelier. The building houses the County District Court of the 5th Judicial District. The building was remodeled in 1950. Additions were added in 1972 and 1981.On the northeast side is the Courthouse Annex.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Watonwan County Courthouse
Old County Courthouse – Madelia
Location: 30 West Main Street / Abbott Avenue SW
Built: 1872 – 1873
Style: Commercial
Architect: Joseph Flanders
Contractor: Joseph Flanders
Description: The building faces north and is a two story buff colored brick structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Madelia. The north front has large arched windows on the first story and smaller arched windows on the second story. The roof line is flat. The building served as the second county courthouse from 1872 to 1874.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Flanders Block – Madelia
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, Nobles County, Pipestone County, Redwood County and Rock County.
History: The county was created in 1860 and Madelia was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a frame structure built in 1861. The courthouse burned in 1872 and the county leased the Flanders Block built in 1872 as the second courthouse, which building is still standing. The county seat was moved to St. James in 1874 and the third courthouse, a wood frame structure, was erected on land donated by the railway. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 1895 to 1896 at a cost of $33,000.
County Courthouse – St. James
County District Court courtroom
County Courthouse Annex – St. James
Photos taken 2008, 2012 and 2017