McCook County is named for Edwin Stanton McCook, who was a governor of the Dakota Territory and a general in the American Civil War.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Miner County and Lake County
E – Minnehaha County
S – Turner County and Hutchinson County
W – Hanson County
Created: January 8, 1873 
County Seat:
Cameron 1878 – 1880
Bridgewater 1880 – 1882
Salem 1882 – present
County Courthouse – Salem
Location: 130 West Essex Avenue / North Main Street
Built: 1934 – 1935
Style: Art Deco
Architect: Floyd F Kings and Walter J Dixon
Contractor: Huron Construction Company
Description: The building faces south and is a three story rectangular brownish colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Salem and has a stone frame around the main entrance. Silver colored panels are between the windows on the second and third stories. Vertical pilasters run between the windows and a belt runs between the first and second stories. The roof line is flat. In the interior, the County Circuit Court courtroom is located on the west side of the third story. The ceiling is finished with the same wide border bands creating a sunken panel as in the corridors. The walls in the room are lined with a wood wainscotting. An ornamental plaster cornice in a stylized geometric motif encircles the room at the ceiling. The original furnishings remain in-place. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 1st Judicial Circuit and the County Magistrate Court.
See: National Register of Historic Places – McCook County Courthouse
See: The 1st Judicial Circuit includes Aurora County, Bon Homme County, Brule County, Buffalo County, Charles Mix County, Clay County, Davison County, Douglas County, Hanson County, Hutchinson County, Turner County, Union County and Yankton County.
History: The county was created in 1873 and Cameron was selected as the county seat in 1878 when the county was organized. The first courthouse was donated by a local resident. The county seat was moved to Bridgewater in 1880 where the second courthouse was erected. The county seat was moved to Salem and the third courthouse was a school house. The fourth courthouse was built by Thomas McKinnon in 1884 as a two room building which was enlarged in 1893 to a two story wood frame structure. The architect was W L Dow. The fifth and present courthouse was constructed in 1934 to 1935 at a cost of $75,441.
County Courthouse – Salem
County Circuit Court courtroom
Photos taken 2007 and 2018