Dixon County is named for Dixon, who was an early pioneer in the area.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Clay County, South Dakota and Union County, South Dakota
E – Union County, South Dakota and Dakota County
S – Thurston County and Wayne County
W – Wayne County and Cedar County
Created: January 26, 1856 
County Seat:
Ponca 1858 – present
County Courthouse – Ponca
Location: 302 West 3rd Street / North Iowa Street
Built: 1883 – 1884
Style: Federal
Architect: Unknown
Contractor: Unknown
Description: The building faces north and is a two story red colored brick structure. The building is located in the center of Ponca. The building is slightly rectangular shaped with a short southeast wing. The central entrance has white colored trim around the white colored wood door. In the interior, the combined County District Court and County Court courtroom is located on the second story of the old east section. The building houses the County District Court and County Court of the 6th Judicial District. The architect was unknown and the contractor was unknown. On the west side the new three story buff colored brick section was built in 1939 and 1940. This building is slightly rectangular shaped and joined to the old building on the east side and has the main entrance on the east side of the north front. White colored vertical dividers separate the windows and a wide white colored header runs along the flat roof line. The architect was J R Reynolds of Sioux City, Iowa and the contractor was Works Projects Administration.
Note: Ponca was known for Ponca bricks produced here. It is probable that laborers from the Ponca brickworks designed and built the old section of the courthouse.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Dixon County Courthouse
See: The 6th Judicial District includes Burt County, Cedar County, Dakota County, Dodge County, Thurston County and Washington County.
History: The county was created in 1856 and Ponca was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a building erected by Frank Ricker & Bros., and occupied by D T Bramble, as a grocery. In the fall of 1857 this building was used for a courthouse. The second and present courthouse was built in 1883 to 1884. An addition was constructed in 1939 to 1940.
County Courthouse – Ponca
County District Court courtroom
County District Court courtroom in 2008
Photos taken 2008 and 2023