In the mid 1800s Yavapai County decided to rent a courtroom space in a two-story wood building on the corner of Gurley and Cortez street.

This building has since undergone many changes and currently it is a three-story Masonic Temple that is rented out by a dentist's office, jewelry store, and clothing boutique.

It wasn't long before the board of supervisors decided to award a bid for a new courthouse and jail that would situated in the middle of town.

The last change to the Yavapai County Courthouse happened in 1895 when a new $200 octagonal bandstand was erected in time to celebrate the Fourth of July.

The Prescott community raised enough money to build the statue to honor the Rough Rider heroes from the 1898 Spanish–American War.

The Prescott Journal Miner said that, "the old courthouse is a fire trap.." and so the board of supervisors voted once again on February 16, 1916, to accept the building plans of W.N Bowman of Denver, Colorado.

New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia visits the courthouse and delivers a speech on the steps in 1938.

In 1986 the Prescott Kiwanis Club donates a brand new centerpiece for the fountain and in 1989 the All-Veterans Memorial is added to the west side of the plaza.

The Yavapai County Courthouse also adds a "Cowboy At Rest" statue on the south side of the plaza.

The Yavapai County Courthouse is listed as one of the Top 10 Public Places in America by the American Planning Association.

County officials discovered the surviving "Lady Ermintrude" fountain components and a restoration project began.

Neoclassical Revival Characteristics include: 1/2.5 stories high, side-gabled or hipped, medium pitched roofs, boxed eaves with a moderate overhang, decorative surrounds on doorways, balustrades on porches, and a wide variety of different window configurations including paired, triple, bayed or arched.