Brown County is named for Major General Jacob Brown, who was the commanding general of the United States Army from 1815 to 1828.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Oconto County
E – Kewaunee County
S – Manitowoc County and Calumet County
W – Outagamie County and Shawano County
Created: October 26, 1818 
County Seat:
Menomineeville (Allouez) 1818 – 1837
De Pere 1837 – 1854
Green Bay 1854 – present
County Courthouse – Green Bay
Location: 100 South Jefferson Avenue / East Walnut Street
Built: 1908 – 1911
Style: Beaux Arts
Architect: Charles E Bell of Minneapolis, Minnesota
Contractor: General Construction Company of Milwaukee
Description: The building faces east and is a four story buff colored brick, stone and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Green Bay and is constructed of Marquette raindrop stone with Bedford limestone superstructure and a gray granite base. There are four entrances surmounted by two story Ionic columns. The main entrance faces east and projects farther and has slightly taller pediment. On the center of the roof is the copper covered dome and clock tower containing the original Seth Thomas clock. In the interior there is a wide staircase rising to the third story. There is a rotunda in the center under the dome which has four mural paintings by Franz Soling of Justice, Agriculture, Commerce and Industry. The building has eight County Circuit Court courtrooms. The large historic courtroom is located on the south side of the third story. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 8th Judicial Circuit. The superintendent was J A Murphy. The building was restored from 1988 to 1993 and an addition was constructed on the west side. The architect was CPR & Associates of DePere and the contractor was P G Miron. On the west side of the building are a three story addition containing one courtroom, a four story building on the west and a three story building on the northwest.
Note: During construction of the courthouse in 1908 to 1912, the following trades were hired: Martin & Wigman for heating; George F Reeke for plumbing; The Morreau Company for light fixtures; Hahi Automatic Clock Company for clocks; Associated Artists for decorating; Langstadt & Meyer for electrical wiring and Joseph Vandergaet for masonry.
See: The architect Charles E Bell of Minneapolis, Minnesota designed many courthouses.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Brown County Courthouse
See: The 8th Judicial District includes Door County, Kewaunee County, Marinette County, Oconto County, Outagamie County and Waupaca County.
History: The county was created in 1818 as part of the Michigan Territory and Menomineeville (Allouez) was selected as the county seat. The scond county created was Crawford County. The first courthouse was a log structure erected in Menomineeville (Allouez) in 1825. The county became part of the Wisconsin Territory in 1836 and the county seat moved to De Pere in 1837 and the log courthouse was moved to the new location. The second courthouse was erected in 1838 at George Street and Wisconsin Street at a cost of $5,740. Later the building burned in 1871. The county seat was moved to Green Bay in 1854. The third courthouse was constructed by Kemnitz Brothers in 1866 at the corner of Adams Street and Doty Street. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed 1908 to 1911 at a cost of $318,798. The cost of the restoration from 1988 to 1993 was $10,600,000.
County Courthouse – Green Bay
County Circuit Court historic courtroom #1
Photos taken 2007, 2011 and 2022