Custer County is named for General George Armstrong Custer, who was a United States Army officer and who died at the Battle of Little Big Horn.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
E – Pennington County and Shannon County
W – Niobrara County, Wyoming and Weston County, Wyoming
Created: January 11, 1875 
County Seat:
Custer City 1877
Hayward 1877 – 1879
Custer 1879 – present
County Courthouse – Custer
Location: 420 Mount Rushmore Road / 4th Street
Built: 2009 – 2011
Style: Modern
Architect: Gene Fennel and Tanya Davis of Fennel Design Inc. of Custer
Contractor: J Scull of Rapid City
Description: The building faces north and is a two story structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Custer. The roof is partly hipped and flat. The courtroom is located on the second story. The building is a rebuilding of the 1972 – 1973 courthouse which was a one story structure.
Former County Courthouse – Custer
Location: 420 Mount Rushmore Road / 4th Street
Built: 1972 – 1973
Style: Modern
Architect: Bell-Galyard-Wells
Contractor: Bell-Galyard-Wells
Description: The building faces north and is a one story square yellow colored concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Custer and had no outside windows. The main entrance was on the north side of the building and is recessed. The roof line was flat. The building was remodeled by Gene Fennel and Tanya Davis of Fennel Design Inc. The building was razed in 2009 for the construction of the present courthouse.
Old County Courthouse – Custer
Location: 411 Mount Rushmore Road / 4th Street
Built: 1880 – 1881
Style: Italianate
Architect: R D Jennings
Contractor: C C Crary of Custer
Description: The building faces south and is a red colored brick and wood structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Custer to the north of the courthouse. The building has a projecting center section with entrance on the first story and balcony and three arched windows on the second story. There are east and west wings. The roof line is sloped. The bricks were made just north of Custer. The old courtroom is located on the second story. The building is now a museum.
History: The first county seats were Custer City and Hayward. The county seat was moved to Custer in 1879. The first courthouse was built in 1880 to 1881 and is still standing. The second courthouse was constructed in 1972 t0 1973 and was demolished in 2009. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 2009 to 2011.
County Courthouse – Custer
Old County Courthouse – Custer
Photos taken 2006, 2011 and 2015