Stark County | US Courthouses

Stark County is named for George Stark, who was vice president of the Northern Pacific Railroad from 1875 to 1879.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Billings County and Dunn County

E – Mercer County, Morton County and Grant County

S – Hettinger County and Slope County

W – Billings County

Created: February 10, 1879

County Seat:

Dickinson 1883 – present

County Courthouse – Dickinson

Location: 51 3rd Street East / Sims Street

Built: 1936 – 1937

Style: Art Deco

Architect: William F Kurke of Fargo

Contractor: S W Jonason and Company of Aberdeen, South Dakota

Description: The building faces south and is a three story buff colored Hebron face brick, limestone and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Dickinson. The south front is faced with gray-white colored Indiana limestone which extends up to the roof. The windows are vertical. The low one story east and west wings extend from the building. The roof line is flat. In the interior, the corridors and main stairway have wall wainscot of Kasota stone with Cardiff Green trim. The stair rails, trim in the lobby, and door bucks in the lobby are of solid bronze. Birch serves as the wood for interior doors and trim throughout the building. The County District Court courtroom is located along the south side of the second story. The courtroom is finished in black walnut and the ceiling extends into the third story. There is a small courtroom located at the northwest corner of the third story. On the south side of the basement level is the third County District Court courtroom. The building houses the County District Court of the Southwest Judicial District. The architect was William F Kurke of Fargo and the contractor was S W Jonason and Company of Aberdeen, South Dakota. In 2015 to 2017, a three story addition was constructed on the west side and has large glass windows along the center. The roof line is flat. The architect was JLG Architects of Grand Forks and the contractor was Scull Construction.

See: Other Art Deco style courthouses are located in Burleigh County, Emmons County, Hettinger County, Ransom County, Sheridan County and Walsh County.

See: National Register of Historic Places – Stark County Courthouse

See: The Southwest Judicial District includes Adams County, Billings County, Bowman County, Dunn County, Golden Valley County, Hettinger County, Slope County.

History: The county was created in 1879 and Dickinson was selected as the county seat in 1883 when the county was organized. The first courthouse was a building now occupied by the Dickenson Press. The second courthouse was a two story red colored brick structure built by P Plettenberg and Renken in 1886 at a cost of $15,000. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1936 to 1937 at a cost of $213,000. The cost of construction of the addition in 2017 was $6,500,000.