It was designed by St. Paul, Minnesota architects Buechner & Orth in Beaux Arts or Modified Renaissance style.

[1][2] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 as part of a multiple property submission for Buechner and Orth Courthouses in North Dakota.

[2] A newspaper article in 1910 noted: "The dome is one of the show features of the court house and has no equal at the present time in the state.

[2] The historic site includes a two-story structure originally used as the sheriff's residence and jail located to the southeast of the courthouse.

[3][4] In 1911, shortly after the courthouse opened, district judge John Cowan was impeached and charged with drunken behavior, disorderly conduct, and assault.