Renville County Courthouse, 500 E. Depue, Olivia, Minnesota
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Renville County Courthouse | |
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| Address: | 500 Depue E |
| City/locality- State/province |
Olivia, Minnesota |
| County- State/province: |
Renville County, Minnesota |
| State/province: | Minnesota |
| Country: | United States |
| Year built: | 1904 |
| Primary Style: | Classical Revival |
| Major Alterations: | Intact |
| Historic Function: | Courthouse |
| Current Function: | Courthouse |
| Architect or source of design: | Fremont D. Orff |
| Material of Exterior Wall Covering: | Brick |
| National Register of Historic Places Information | |
| Reference Number: | 86001281 |
| Certification date: | June 13, 1986 |
| Level of significance: | Local |
| Primary Style: | Commercial Queen Anne |
The first courthouse in Renville County was built at Beaver Falls in 1872. It was a small stone building costing $2,000 originally built as a jail. A 40 by 60 foot frame building was completed for $3,939 in 1889, when the earlier building again became a jail. When Olivia won one of the ongoing battles for county seat in 1895, court convened in a local business building. A court decision that returned the seat to Beaver Falls lasted two years. In 1900, Olivia won and retained the seat. Two years later, a courthouse, shown above, was designed by Fremont D. Orff of Minneapolis and built at a cost of $88,000. The architect combined several styles. The two stories and tower of red brick are trimmed with yellow stone that appears in quoins, belt courses, and window surrounds, as well as the central portico and solid rusticated high basement. The blue-green copper segmented domes over the corner pavilions and the central tower suggest French Second Empire. However, the center pavilion with its balustered porch, fluted columns, and classic, oculus-pierced pediment is in the Georgian style. In 1933, federal money for work relief repaired and redecorated the building. Various updates and preservation projects have taken place since then. Still, except for different roofing material and the removal of a small spindle railing around the roof, the oustide looks much as it did in 1902. - Historical information adapted from "The First 100 Years... The Minnesota State Bar Association."
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The Minnesota Historical Society holds many of the historical records, such as naturalization and civil ad criminal case files, of Minnesota courthouse. State laws restrict some access to records. The Minnesota State BAR Association published "The First 100 Years--", which holds a more complete history of the judicial branch on both local and the states levels.
