Dawes County is named for James W Dawes, a former governor of Nebraska from 1883 to 1887.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Fall River County, South Dakota and Shannon County, South Dakota
E – Sheridan County
S – Box Butte County
W – Sioux County
Created: February 19, 1885 
County Seat:
Chadron 1885 – present
County Courthouse – Chadron
Location: 451 Main Street / East 5th Street
Built: 1936 – 1937
Style: Art Deco
Architect: John Latenser & Sons of Omaha
Contractor: C E Atwater, Company
Description: The building faces east and is a two story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Chadron. The building is a rectangular shape. The wall surface is light tan colored brick with limestone trim. The east front has stone trim around the entrance and stone lattice on the upper part of the center tower which rises above the roof line. The roof line is flat. The floorplan is a T-shape, with steps up from, the entry vestibule. Original features include dull grey marble for wainscoting, and frames for doors and plaques, patterned terrazzo flooring, metal balustrades with wood railings and metal patterned newels, and in the main hallway a light fixture with four small globes. The second story district courtroom runs virtually the length of the north end of the building and is generally unaltered, except for a new celling and replacement lights. Courtroom furnishings are of greyish brown wood and original. The Judge’s bench and the jury box are simply rendered and paneled. The building houses the District Court and County Court of the 12th Judicial District.
See: The architect, John Latenser of Omaha, designed courthouses in Cherry County, Custer County, Furnas County and Holt County: and John Latenser, Sr. of Omaha in Douglas County.
See: The 12th Judicial District includes Banner County, Box Butte County, Cheyenne County, Deuel County, Garden County, Grant County, Kimball County, Morrill County, Scotts Bluff County, Sheridan County and Sioux County.
History: The county was created in 1885 and Chadron was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a two story red colored brick structure built by J V Cousand in 1887. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1936 to 1937 at a cost of $971,890.
County Courthouse - Chadron
Fort Robinson State Park
Photos taken 2007