Yellow Medicine County | US Courthouses

Yellow Medicine County is named after the Yellow Medicine River that crosses the county. Yellow Medicine stems from the Dakota word “pajutazee”, for the long yellow grasses that are abundant in the region.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Lac Qui Parle County and Chippewa County

E – Renville County and Redwood County

S – Redwood County, Lyon County and Lincoln County

W – Deuel County, South Dakota

Created: March 6, 1871

County Seat:

Granite Falls 1874 – present

Former County Courthouse – Granite Falls ( demolished )

Location: 415 Ninth Street / Granite Street

Built: 1889 – 1890

Style: Romanesque Revival

Architect: Frederick E Hoover

Contractor: C W Kerrick & Company of Minneapolis

Description: The building faced north and was a three story light yellow colored brick and stone structure. The building was located on spacious grounds in the center of Granite Falls. The north front had a square brick tower rising to a peaked roof at the fourth story. The northeast corner had a rounded tower with conical roof. The building had been remodeled, modernized and added to in 1942, 1956, and 1967. In 1975 a one story addition was constructed on the north west side and a two story brick addition was constructed on the east side. The building was raized in 2016 and became the north parking lot.

County Justice Center – Granite Falls

Location: 415 Ninth Street / Granite Street

Built: 2013 – 2016

Style: Modern

Architect: Wold Architects and Engineers

Contractor: Contegrity Group Inc.

Description: The building faces north and is a two story buff colored brick, steel, glass and concrete structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Granite Falls. The north front has a projecting glass paneled section on the east side with projecting canopy and the main entrance on the first story. Along the front are two projecting dark brown colored brick sections. There are vertical panels between the windows. The roof line is flat. In the interior is a small entrance lobby on the north side with stairs ascending to the second story. Along the south side of the second story of the west wing are the County District Court small courtroom and on the west side is the County District Court courtroom. The building houses the County District Court of the 8th Judicial District.

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, Stevens County, Swift County, Traverse County and Wilkin County.

History: The county was created in 1871 and Granite Falls was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was contributed by the residents of Granite Falls in 1876. The second courthouse was built in 1889 to 1900 at a cost of $14,768. The cost of the addition was in 1975 was $418,716. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 2013 to 2016 at a cost of was $6,300,000.