Humboldt County | US Courthouses

Humboldt County is named for the Humboldt River, which was named for Alexander von Humboldt who was a German naturalist and explorer.

Created: November 25, 1861

County Seat:

Unionville 1861 – 1873

Winnemucca 1873 – present

County Courthouse – Winnemucca

Location: 25 West 5th Street / South Bridge Street

Built: 1920 – 1921

Style: Neo-Classical and Beaux Arts

Architect: Frederic J DeLongchamps of Reno

Contractor: Peraldo Brother / Lehman A Ferris ( supervisor )

Description: The building faces northeast and is a two story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The northeast front has a portico with six Corinthian columns rising to a pediment at the roof line. The north and south sides of the building project slightly from the main building. A wide cornice runs below the roof line with a horizontal band running below the cornice. The interior contains a marble staircase, and a two-story atrium with ionic columns that support a dramatic leaded-glass ceiling. During construction, the supervisor was Lehman A Ferris. An addition connected by a passageway was built in 1974 to 1976. The architect was Alton Dean Jensen of Winnemucca and the contractor was Corrad Construction Company. The addition is named the Public Safety Building.

Note: The previous courthouse was designed by James Z Kelly and constructed by A Murphy in 1874. The courthouse was destroyed by fire on July 20, 1918. The cost of construction of the present courthouse was set at $161,324.

See: Frederic J DeLongchamps designed courthouses located in Carson City ( Ormsby County ), Douglas County, Lander County, Lyon County, Perishing County and Washoe County. He also designed the California courthouse in Alpine County.