Pondera County is named for the French word “pend d’oreille” meaning “ear pendant”, and was changed to the phonetic spelling.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Glacier County and Toole County
E – Liberty County and Choteau County
S – Teton County
W – Flathead County
Created: February 17, 1919 
County Seat:
Conrad 1919 – present
County Courthouse – Conrad
Location: 20 4th Avenue SW / South Virginia Street
Built: 1937 – 1938
Style: Art Deco
Architect: A V McIver
Contractor: Lease & Leigland
Description: The building faces north and is a three story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Conrad. The building has a raised basement. The north front extends from the main building and rises three stories. The entrance has wide stairs and is framed with dark stone. Above the doorway is a gold eagle and above is a large glass panel. The roof line is flat. In the interior the building has Art Deco ornamentation. In the interior, the County Distict Court courtroom is located on the third story. The building houses the County District Court of the 9th Judicial District and County Justice Court.
Old County Courthouse – Conrad
Location: 15 4th Avenue SW / South Virginia Street
Built: 1915 – 1916
Style: Classical
Architect: Unknown
Contractor: Unknown
Description: The building faces south and is a two story buff colored brick structure. The building is in the center of Conrad on the north side of the courthouse. The south front has a central entrance and on the second story are three large arched windows. The roof line is flat. Inside, the second story is occupied by a large auditorium. The building served as the City Hall and then as the Courthouse until 1938. The building houses the Public Library.
History: The county was created in 1919 and Conrad was designated as the county seat. The first courthouse was the City Hall built in 1915 to 1916. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1937 to 1938.
County Courthouse – Conrad
County District Court courtroom
Photos taken 2009