Ramsey County is named after Alexander Ramsey of Saint Paul, Minnesota ( 1815 – 1903 ), who was a United States Senator from Minnesota.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Towner County and Cavalier County
E – Walsh County and Nelson County
S – Nelson County and Benson County
W – Benson County and Towner County
Created: January 4, 1873 
County Seat:
Creel City 1883 – 1884
Devils Lake 1884 – present
County Courthouse – Devils Lake
Location: 524 4th Avenue Northeast / 6th Street Northeast
Built: 1959 – 1960
Style: Modern
Architect: Foss and Company
Contractor: The John Larsen Company
Description: The building faces west and is three story glass and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Devils Lake. The building is a rectangular shape with vertical concrete pillars along the west front. There are greenish-blue colored horizontal panels between the windows. Over the entrance is a concrete portico. There is red colored brick on the north and south sides and on the central roof section. In the interior, the large County District Court courtroom is located on the west side of the third story and a smaller courtroom is located on the northwest side of the third story. The building houses the County District Court of the Northeast Judicial District. On the east side is the old red colored red brick Sheriff’s Residence designed by William D Gillespie of Haxby and Gillespie of Fargo and constructed by Dinnie Brothers of Grand Forks in 1909 to 1911 and which is now the Heritage Museum.
See: The architect Foss Associates Architects also designed courthouses in Billings County, Cavalier County and Morton County, and in Minnesota in Becker County, Clay County, Clearwater County and Pennington County.
See: The Norrheast Judicial District includes Benson County, Bottineau County, Cavalier County, McHenry County, Pembina County. Pierce County, Renville County, Rolette County, Towner County and Walsh County.
History: The county was created in 1873 and Creel City was selected as the county seat in 1883 when the county was organized. The first courthouse was a wood frame structure erected in 1883. The county seat was moved to Devils Lake in 1884 and the courthouse was hauled a half a mile north to the new location. The second courthouse was a three story red colored brick structure designed by T D Allen and built in 1887. The courthouse was torn down in 1959 when the third and present courthouse was constructed in 1959 to 1960.
County Courthouse – Devils Lake
County District Court courtroom
Small Courtroom
Old Sheriff’s Residence – Devils Lake
Photos taken 2007, 2009 and 2022