Lake County is named for the many beautiful lakes in the region.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Kingsbury County and Brookings County
E – Moody County
S – Minnehaha County and McCook County
W – Miner County
Created: January 8, 1873 
County Seat:
Madison 1873 – present
County Courthouse – Madison
Location: 200 East Center Street / Lee Avenue
Built: 1934 – 1935
Style: Art Deco
Architect: Hugill and Blatherwick
Contractor: S W Jonasson and Company
Description: The building faces south and is a three story brick and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped shaped building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Madison. The base of the building is stone with the south front doorway framed with square stone pillars. Between the second and third stories are checker white buff colored bricks. A decorative belt runs above the third story windows and below the flat roof line. In the interior, Art Deco metal stairs ascend to the third story. The County Circuit Court courtroom is located on the east side of the second story and is finished in the Art Deco style, except for the ceiling decorations which match those in the other public spaces. Some of the original Art Deco-style pendant light fixtures remain (others have been replaced with surface mounted florescent fixtures. The walls are wainscotted to above the door heads with wood paneling; the wood paneled pilasters have a lighter wood fluting running their full height. The paneling steps up at the judge’s bench. The fluting is repeated on the courtroom railing and judge’s bench. The floor is tiled with contrasting tile. All of the courtroom furnishings are original. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 3rd Judicial District and the County Magistrate Court.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Lake County Courthouse
See: The 3rd Judicial Circuit includes Beadle County, Brookings County, Clark County, Codington County, Deuel County, Grant County, Hamlin County, Hand County, Jerauld County, Kingsbury County, Miner County, Moody County and Sanborn County.
History: The county was created in 1873 and Madison was selected as the county seat. In 1880 the town moved its location north to the railway. The first courthouse was a two story structure designed and built by H J Anderson, of Spring Valley, Minnesota in 1844 at a cost of $15,000. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1934 to 1935 at a cost of $84,035.
County Courthouse – Madison
County Circuit Court courtroom
Photos taken 2007 and 2018