The Faribault County Courthouse in Blue Earth,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The building was completed in December 1892 at a cost of $70,000. Materials included Kasota limestone, sand from the

Blue Earth River The Blue Earth River () is a tributary of the Minnesota River, long, in southern Minnesota in the United States. Two of its headwaters tributaries, the Middle Branch Blue Earth River and the West Branch Blue Earth River, also flow for short di ...

bottoms, red brick above the rusticated sandstone ground floor, and clay tile for the roof. The arches at the entrance rest on short columns with foliated

capitals Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

, a hallmark of the

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a architectural style, style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revivalism (architecture), revival style incorporates 11th- and 12th-century ...

style. Between the arches is a

gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed Grotesque (architecture), grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from ...

in the form of a

satyr In Greek mythology, a satyr (, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( ), and sileni (plural), is a male List of nature deities, nature spirit with ears and a tail resembling those of a horse, as well as a permanent, exaggerated erection. ...

's head. The most prominent feature is a seven-story tower on the corner. A county office building wing was added to the west in 1974-75, designed in a modern style by A.J. Ross & Assoc.Minnesota Modern Registry
Docomomo US MN, accessed January 27, 2025.

References

{{Registered Historic Places Buildings and structures in Faribault County, Minnesota County courthouses in Minnesota Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Faribault County, Minnesota