Stark County Courthouse – Dickinson ND

Description

The Stark County Courthouse in Dickinson, ND was built as a Public Works Administration (PWA) project. The PWA supplied a $93,280 grant for the project (PWA Docket No. N.D. 1043-R). Construction occurred between Mar. 1936 and Jun. 1937.

The building bears a gorgeous set of five bas-relief sculptures on the front façade, as well as carved inscriptions STARK and AD 1936 and distinctive Deco light fixtures. A PWA plaque can be found inside to the left of the front entrance.

Short and Brown’s PWA publication of 1939 describes the building:

This structure is three stories and a basement in height and is rectangular in plan. The second and third stories are set back from the outer walls of the first story, except at the main entrance.

The basement contains an auditorium, committee and recreation rooms, office for the county engineer, vaults, and storage space. On the first floor are offices for the county judge, auditory, commissioners, treasurer, superintendent of schools, registrar of deeds, county nurse, and work space and vaults. A large courtroom and offices for the district judge, clerk, sheriff, attorney, and court reporter are on the second floor as well as jury rooms and vaults. On the third floor are separate cell blocks for men and women, rooms for the matron and jailer, and a kitchen.

The building is of fire-resistive construction and the exterior walls are light-colored brick with stone trim. It was completed in June 1937 at a construction cost of $191,708 and a project cost of $207,487.

The building still stands and has since been expanded. It was “one of nine modernistic-style courthouses built in the state during the Great Depression.” (www.prairiepublic.org)