Silver Bow County | US Courthouses

Silver Bow County is named for Silver Bow Creek which flows through Butte and where gold was discovered.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Deer Lodge County

E – Jefferson County

S – Madison County

W – Beaverhead County

Created: February 16, 1881

County Seat:

Butte 1881 – present

County Courthouse – Butte

Location: 155 West Granite Street / North Montana Street

Built: 1910 – 1912

Style: Beaux Arts

Architect: John G Link and Charles S Haire of Billings

Contractor: Sound Construction and Engineering Company

Description: The building faces south and is a four story gray colored stone and concrete structure. The building is located in the center of Butte. The building has a raised basement. The south front has a projecting center section with wide stairs and three rectangular entrances. Six columns rise from the third story to the top of the fourth story. Above is a wide header with small windows along the fourth story. A balustrade runs along the roof line. In the interior, the second story entrance leads to the grand rotunda with walls decorated with golden mosaic murals of personified muses – Justice, Geography, History and Philosophy. Above them, Presidents Lincoln, McKinley, Washington, and Wilson reside on the corners of the dome. Large pillars of Montana-quarried Travertine draw the eye upward toward the mosaics and stained glass dome at the roof. On the west side of the third story is the large County District Court Courtroom 1 and on the east side is the County District Court Courtroom 2. The Law Library is along the north side and extend into the fourth story. In the northeast corner is the County Justice Court courtrroom and on the fourth story is the City Court courtroom. The building houses the County District Court of the 2nd Judicial District and County Justice Court. The architect was John Link and Charles Haire of Billings and the contractor was Sound Construction and Engineering Company. The building also houses the City of Butte offices.

See: The architect, John G Link of Montana ( in association with Charles S Haire and others ) designed courthouses in Montana in Big Horn County, Carter County, Custer County, Dawson County, Granite County, McCone County, Musselshell County, Richland County, Rosebud County and Sheridan County; in Oregon in Jackson County and in Wyoming in Park County, Sheridan County and Washakie County.

History: The county was created in 1881 and Butte was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a two story structure designed by J R Roberts and built in 1884 to 1885. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1910 to 1912 at a cost of $485,000.