Traill County is named for Walter John Strickland Traill ( 1847 – 1938 ), a Canadian, who was employed by the Hudson Bay Company and who was a prominent citizen during the early days of the county.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
E – Polk County, Minnesota and Norman County, Minnesota
S – Cass County
W – Steele County
Created: January 12, 1875 
County Seat:
Caledonia 1875 – 1889
Hillsboro 1889 – present
County Courthouse – Hillsboro
Location: 114 West Caledonia Avenue / 1st Street Northwest
Built: 1906 – 1907
Style: Beaux Arts
Architect: Buechner & Orth of St. Paul, Minnesota
Contractor: C Skooglum
Description: The building faces east and is a three story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Hillsboro. The building has a raised stone basement. A projecting portico on the east side has two stone columns rising to the third story with a parapet, In the center of the building is an octagonal dome with silver colored roof and with a smaller octagonal dome at the top. The interior features an operational skylight, well-preserved murals, and scallop headed niches in the rotunda. The third story County District Court courtroom has richly stenciled coffered ceiling and massive oak balustrade. The building retains complete exterior integrity, and the painting over of stencils on the first and second floor walls in the early 1950′s has been the only major interior alteration. The building houses the County District Court of the East Central Judicial District. An addition was built on the south side in 1955. The architect was Kurke Associates.
See: The architect Buechiner & Orth of St. Paul, Minnesota designed many courthouses. The courthouse is similar, except for the dome, to the courthouse in McHenry County.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Traill County Courthouse
See: The East Central Judicial District includes Cass County and Steele County.
History: The county was created in 1875 and Caledonia was selected as the county seat. The first county building was a single story frame structure built in 1875 as an office for the Registrar. The jail was built in 1879. The first courthouse was a two story structure built by George E Weston in 1880 at a cost of $2,100. The county seat was moved to Hillsboro in 1889. The second courthouse was a brick structure built in 1889 to 1890. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1906 to 1907.
County Courthouse – Hillsboro
County District Court courtroom
County Courthouse Addition – Hillsboro
Photos taken 2006, 2008 and 2015