It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 as a part of the County Courthouses in Iowa Thematic Resource.

[2] Because of a dispute over the location of the county seat, the second courthouse stood unfinished until 1852 when the main floor of the frame structure was finished to provide space for a courtroom.

County officers occupied two rooms in the unfinished second floor before the building was destroyed by fire the following year.

Designed by Bell & Detweiler of Minneapolis, the present courthouse was built by George Rickman & Sons.

[4] A simplified version of the Beaux Arts style, the building features a 112-foot (34 m) central tower, which makes it one of the local community's most prominent landmarks.