319 Park Ave
Gaylord, MN, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Sibley County Courthouse and Sheriff's Residence and Jail

Statement of Significance:

The Sibley County Courthouse and combined Sheriff's Residence and Jail, located on Court Street at Fourth Street, are architecturally significant as prominent public buildings designed to reflect the era of progress experienced in Gaylord during the late 1880's continuing through the early 1900's, Historically, the county government structures are significant as being a catalyst for the continued building boom and population growth first experienced when the Minneapolis and St, Louis Railroad platted the town in 1881 and again in 1915 when the county seat moved from Henderson, a river town on the eastern border of the county, to Gaylord, the center of the county and major stop on the only rail line constructed through the county.

Sibley County, established March 5, 1853, was named for General Henry Hastings Sibley, an early pioneer and military defender of the territory and governor of the state. The first county seat was located at Henderson, on the easter border of the county and the Minnesota River, the first incorporated town in the county, Henderson was founded in 1852 and platted in 1855 by Joseph R, Brown, one of the prominent pioneers of the state. The first courthouse was located at a place of business owned by Henry Poehler, named the Alton Building, Proceedings were held on the second floor from 1858-1862. The county offices then moved from that building to the Welch Building in 1862. In October 1863 the Welch Building and all the county records burned, except for the Register of Deeds, from 1863 until 1879 when Henderson built a brick courthouse (National Register of Historic Places 7-2-79) county offices were housed at various temporary quarters.

During this time, from 1850 to 1880, stage routes intersected the center of the county, branching off the main thoroughfare, a road that ran east to west through the county from Henderson to towns and military posts in western counties. The center of the county was firmly established by this intersection long before Gaylord was platted. Nicknamed "Hub City", Gaylord vied for the county seat until it moved to the city in 1915.

During county During Edward 1880), in the 1881-1882 the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railroad expanded diagonally across the creating five new settlements and platting these towns as it crossed the county, 1881 the railway town of Gaylord was platted and named by the railroad for W. Gaylord, its master of transportation (1874-1877) and superintendent (1878- The city was incorporated in 1883. Gaylord townspeople and settlers located central and western portion of the county believed the county seat should be relocated to the center of the county. Henderson's location on the eastern border of the county made it difficult for people living in the western portion of the region to journey to the county seat, especially in bad weather.

During 1887 the county appropriated $30.00 for village attorney fees to look after a county seat position. In 1890 Gaylord made its first attempt to remove the county seat from Henderson but lacked four votes of majority. In 1895 the neighboring town of Arlington, directly to the east of Gaylord, made a simultaneous attempt with Gaylord to secure the county seat. Both were defeated. A block of land in the Maas Addition was deeded to Sibley County by the city of Gaylord for use as a permanent site for the courthouse during this second bid. In 1902 Gaylord made a third attempt and was again defeated. After waiting thirteen years, Gaylord launched another campaign, circulating a petition. A vote was cast, the largest ever recorded in Sibley County. 3212 votes were cast and 2200 voted for the Gaylord site. In the Gaylord Hub, dated September 10, 1915, the headline read in large bold letters "Gaylord V7ins Great Victory."

Gaylord townspeople viewed the matter as finally being settled after twenty-five years of agitation, the victory clean cut and decisive. The October 8, 1915 Gaylord Hub put it succinctly:"Gaylord, in the center of the county, on the only railroad running through the county and easily within reach of the majority, for whom government is maintained, is the most logical location. of the county seat." On December 1, 1915, by order of the county board, the removal of the county seat from Henderson to Gaylord was effective. The Gaylord City Hall, leased to the county, became the temporary quarters. The block upon which the new courthouse was erected was donated to the county, free of charge, by the city. Gaylord had held the property for twenty-five years solely for that purpose.

With the penetration of the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railroad through the county, the only rail line built through the county, the population of the area climbed 33% from 1880 to 1890. Agricultural production increased with the export of cultivated goods, the basis of Sibley County's economy. Gaylord's population increased 33% from 1890 (when the first census was taken) to 1900. The move of the county seat in 1915 caused another spurt in population growth and precipitated a major building boom. During 1916 Gaylord experienced unparalleled growth in the community. Sewer and water systems were enlarged. Construction boomed with over $250,000.00 spent in 1916, the largest annual amount in Gaylord history. The largest expenditure became the new courthouse and sheriff's residence and jail, the major catalyst for the upsurge in construction of new businesses and improvements. Transactions at the courthouse brought many people to town to use professional services. Gaylord became more important as a trade center with the laying of pavement between Gaylord and Glencoe, a city 18 miles to the north. The rail line became vital as a means of transportation to conduct county business as well as experiencing an upsurge in use as an agricultural trade center.

The courthouse and combined sheriff's residence and jail were designed by the Minneapolis" firm of J.A. Burner and W.K. Macomber. The courthouse was designed to reflect an era of progress experienced at the time. To house county offices, architects, many times, built pleasing structures in the shape of temples and palaces reflecting an era of prosperity. Large public buildings all over Minnesota reflect this progess. Fifteen courthouses were built in Minnesota during the early 1900's. The Sibley County Courthouse and Sheriff's Residence and Jail are the best known buildings designed by Burner and Macomber who were partners for only two years, from 1916-1917. Not much is known about the practices of these two architects. Burner in private practice during the teens also had a practice in 1914 with Ralph Mather. Macomber, a Hawaiian, born in Hawaii in 1884, practiced in Minneapolis and St. Paul with several partners, with Kinney in 1915, Fallows and Huey in 1921, and Walter Dennis in 1930-1931. He practiced on his own from 1919 to ca. 1935. Macomber designed the Minneapolis Masons Cataract Lodge #2 in 1925. Arlen J. Olson, formerly of Severance Township in Sibley County, of the firm of Olson and Johnson, Missoula, Montana, was awarded the general contract for the courthouse and sheriff's quarters and jail. Other costs included electrical work, plumbing, sewage and drainage, heating, furniture, painting, architectural fees, jail. fixtures, and grading, plantings, sidewalks, and driveways bringing the total cost to $147,490.00.

The annex addition is located on the northwest corner of the block, balanced with the northeast location of the jail building. The addition is physically connected to the main building by a three-story corridor, detracting from neither the front nor rear entrances of the building. Massing and size remain proportional between the two structures which are constructed of the same Indiana limestone. Perhaps most importantly, the new addition cannot be viewed by the onlooker as the courthouse is approached travelling north on Fourth Street. The approaching view allows the observer a solitary look at the Neo-Classical Revival structure, the jail building and addition hid in the northeast and northwest portions of the block.

The Sibley County Courthouse and Sheriff's Residence and Jail were included in an historic sites survey of Sibley County recently conducted by the State Historic Preservation Office. The survey staff determined that the courthouse and jail retain physical integrity as county government offices in comparison to other county courthouses and jails where the integrity has been compromised by structural changes. The Sibley County Courthouse and Sheriff's Residence and Jail fit within the SHPO's Agricultural Development and Railroad Construction historic context and provide a valuable example of early twentieth century architectural style and is significant for its part in the role of county government in rural Minnesota.

The battle to retain or gain a county seat was a recurring theme throughout much of Minnesota during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. County seats were usually designated in early settlements near transportation thoroughfares, such as rivers or early rail lines. As the railroad network developed, centrally located settlements began to vie for the county seat. A central location was geographically convenient for travelling to and from all corners of the county and a railroad hub became the natural choice for county seats in much of Minnesota. Many counties experienced battles that took decades to resolve. Adjacent to Sibley County, Renville County experienced a forty-five-year struggle. Carlton, Grant, Houston, Lac qui Parle and other counties all experienced a county seat battle. The Sibley County struggle took twenty-five years to resolve.