Clallam County is named for the Native American word “klallam” meaning “strong people”.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – British Columbia, Canada and San Juan County
E – Jefferson County
S – Jefferson County
Created: April 26, 1854 
County Seat:
New Dungeness 1854 – 1890
Port Angeles 1890 – present
County Courthouse – Port Angeles
Location: 319 Lincoln Street / East 4th Street
Built: 1914 – 1915
Style: Classical Revival
Architect: Francis Grant
Contractor: Sound Construction Company
Description: The building faces west and is a two story dark red colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Port Angeles and has two large white colored columns supporting a header and framing the entrance. which section extends from the main building. A protruding cornice runs below the roof line. In the center of the building rises a large square brick clock tower. The bell in the tower was shipped around Cape Horn from Boston. The interior of the courthouse includes an entry vestibule and a large central hall faced with marble and decorative scagliola. The scagliola is about three-sixteenths of an inch thick, applied to the plaster walls. The central hall has a classical cornice molding and Ionic pilasters at the entries. Double curved stairs at either end of the hall lead to the second story. The County Superior Court courtroom is located on the second story and still retains original wood trim and furniture. An addition was constructed on the east side in 1979 and houses the County District Court courtroom. The architect was BJSS ( Bennett, Johnson, Slenes & Smith ) of Seattle and the contractor was Peter Kiewit Sons Company, of Seattle.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Clallam County Courthouse
Note: The County Superior Court – Juvenile Courthouse is located at 1912 West 18th Street in Port Angeles and the County District Court II Courthouse is located at 502 East Division Street in Forks.
History: The county was created in 1854 and New Dungeness was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was built with local labor on land donated by Elliot Cline in 1860. The county seat was moved to Port Angeles in 1890. The county rented premises in the Nelson Block on West Front Street and to the ground floor of the Greenleaf Hotel at Second Street and Valley Street in 1891. The hotel burned and the county moved to the McInness Building on East Front Street and Laurel Street. The county purchased the Catholic Church on Lincoln Street which served as the second courthouse. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1914 to 1915.
County Courthouse – Port Angeles
County Superior Court courtroom
County Courthouse Addition
Photos taken 2006 and 2016