Apr 06, 1982
National Register of Historic Places - Rice County Courthouse and Jail
Statement of Significance: The Rice County Courthouse and Jail are significant as the buildings most clearly associated with Rice County government. Both are "replacement" type structures which represent the continuum of county government and are linked by a traditional functional relationship. Architecturally, the courthouse is a well-preserved example of the type of courthouses constructed in a few Minnesota counties in the 1930s; the jail is a good example of jail facilities constructed by county governments after the tum-of-the-century (a nearly identical building, also designed by Schippel, is found in neighboring LeSueur County). Rice County comprised a much larger area when it was organized in 1853; in 1854 the village of Cannon City was platted three miles northeast of Faribault and designated the county seat. In the fall of 1855, however, county boundaries were redrawn, and the county seat was removed to the city of Faribault where it has since remained. In 1857 buildings for the offices of the register of deeds and treasurer and the county jail were erected on the block now occupied by the courthouse alone. In 1873 the corner lots where the jail now stands were purchased, and more permanent quarters for courthouse and jail were constructed on the sites of the present county buildings in 1874. The jail was condemned in 1910 and replaced by the present structure the same year. In 1931, a disastrous fire destroyed the towering French Second Empire courthouse that had been constructed in 1874. After a bitter controversy over whether to use the 1923 fireproof wings as a nucleus for a new building, the ruins were demolished, and the present building constructed. The new courthouse was completed in 1934. The replacement structures of 1934 and 1910 reflect the continuum of Rice County government and the ways that the county has responded to pressing needs and tragedies of the past in order to continue to provide a focus and adequate facilities for county government.
National Register of Historic Places - Rice County Courthouse and Jail
Statement of Significance: The Rice County Courthouse and Jail are significant as the buildings most clearly associated with Rice County government. Both are "replacement" type structures which represent the continuum of county government and are linked by a traditional functional relationship. Architecturally, the courthouse is a well-preserved example of the type of courthouses constructed in a few Minnesota counties in the 1930s; the jail is a good example of jail facilities constructed by county governments after the tum-of-the-century (a nearly identical building, also designed by Schippel, is found in neighboring LeSueur County). Rice County comprised a much larger area when it was organized in 1853; in 1854 the village of Cannon City was platted three miles northeast of Faribault and designated the county seat. In the fall of 1855, however, county boundaries were redrawn, and the county seat was removed to the city of Faribault where it has since remained. In 1857 buildings for the offices of the register of deeds and treasurer and the county jail were erected on the block now occupied by the courthouse alone. In 1873 the corner lots where the jail now stands were purchased, and more permanent quarters for courthouse and jail were constructed on the sites of the present county buildings in 1874. The jail was condemned in 1910 and replaced by the present structure the same year. In 1931, a disastrous fire destroyed the towering French Second Empire courthouse that had been constructed in 1874. After a bitter controversy over whether to use the 1923 fireproof wings as a nucleus for a new building, the ruins were demolished, and the present building constructed. The new courthouse was completed in 1934. The replacement structures of 1934 and 1910 reflect the continuum of Rice County government and the ways that the county has responded to pressing needs and tragedies of the past in order to continue to provide a focus and adequate facilities for county government.
Apr 06, 1982
Posted Date
Aug 11, 2022
Historical Record Date
Apr 06, 1982
Source Name
National Register of Historic Places
