Kewaunee County is named for a Potawatomi word meaning “river of the lost”, or for an Ojibwe word meaning “prairie hen, wild duck or to go around”.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Door County
E – Lake Michigan
S – Manitowoc County
W – Brown County
Created: April 16, 1852 
County Seat:
Kewaunee 1857 – present
County Courthouse – Kewaunee
Location: 613 Dodge Street / Kilbourn Street
Built: 1901 – 1902
Style: Romanesque
Architect: A E Reynolds of Green Bay
Contractor: Rademacher and Lange of Appleton.
Description: The building faces east and is a two story red colored brick structure The building sits at the top of a rise on landscaped gounds in the center of Kewaunee. The east front has a square white colored portico. On either side of the entrance are three story red colored brick towers with white colored balustrade at the top. White colored limestone trims the corners of the old south section of the building. The building was enlarged in 1938. The architect was W C Weeks, Inc. of Sheboygan and the contractor was Jacob Houmes of Sheboygan, The old jail is located on the south side.
See: The 8th Judicial District includes Brown County, Door County, Marinette County, Oconto County, Outagamie County and Waupaca County.
History: The county was created in 1852 and Kewaunee was selected as the county seat in 1856. In 1856 Edward Decker built a structure that served as the county office on Ellis Street. The jail was built in 1858 on Courthouse Square and a second story was built in 1859 to serve as the first courthouse. The building was destroyed by fire. The second courthouse was designed by Frank Brunckhorst and Slanson Grimmes & Company and constructed by Joseph Meashek in 1873 to 1874 at a cost of $12,000. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1901 to 1902 at a cost of $35,000.
County Courthouse - Kewaunee
Old County Jail - Kewaunee
Photos taken 2007