Roberts County | US Courthouses

Roberts County is named for S G Roberts, who was a territorial legislator.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Richland County, North Dakota

E – Traverse County, Minnesota and Big Stone County, Minnesota

S – Grant County

W – Day County and Marshall County

Created: March 8, 1883

County Seat:

Travare 1883 – 1885

Wilmot 1885 – 1900

Sisseton 1900 – present

County Courthouse – Sisseton

Location: 411 2nd Avenue East / Maple Street East

Built: 1902 – 1903

Style: Renaissance

Architect: Buechner & Jacobsen of St. Paul, Minnesota

Contractor: Fred C Norlander of St. Paul, Minnesota

Description: The building faces west and is a three story red colored brick, stone and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds at the highest point in Sisseton. The west front has a one story covered entrance portico which projects from the main building. Above the entrance is a large arched window and two circular windowsencased in carved stone wreaths. All of the windows are rectangular with keystones. On the center of the roof is an octagonal dome covered with terneplate and with silver colored roof. In the interior is a rotunda under the dome. The courtroom is located on the second story. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 5th Judicial District and the County Magistrate Court. The rotunda and wall decorations were restored in 1988. On the east side is two story County Courthouse Annex.

See: The architect Buechner & Jacobsen ( Buechiner & Orth ) of St. Paul, Minnesota designed many courthouses.

See: National Register of Historic Places – Roberts County Courthouse

Note: The 1884 election was taken to court and was decided in favor of Travare. As was common in the West, Wilmot proponents gathered arms to steal the county seat from Travare while it was celebrating the victory. The county records were loaded into a sleigh at the back door and taken to Wilmot, where new officials were elected.

History: The county was created in 1883 and Travare was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a frame structure built in 1884. In 1885, the county seat was moved to Wilmot and the courthouse was moved as well to the new location in Wilmot. The county seat was moved to Sisseton in 1900. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1902 to 1903 at a cost of $43,994.84.

Note: The lowest point in South Dakota is the Big Stone Lake at 965 feet ( 294 meters ) which is located in the county.