8/4/2010:
Built in 1883, six years before North Dakota became a state, the Stutsman County Courthouse is the oldest of its kind in North Dakota. For almost a century the beautiful red brick structure was the center of both Stutsman County politics and law, only replaced by a new building in the early 1980s. A one-of-a-kind structure, the Jamestown landmark is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as an excellent example of the Gothic-Revival style of architecture.
The origins of the Stutsman County landmark trace back to Anton Klaus, the "father of Jamestown." An immigrant from Bruttig, Prussia, Klaus originally settled in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1849 where he made his fortune in hotels, real estate and shingles. Yet, following a major stock market crash in 1873, Klaus was bankrupt. And so, in 1874, the Prussian once again packed up his worldly possessions and followed thousands of other Americans into the West; eventually settling in Jamestown, Dakota Territory.
Klaus set to work, starting up a general store, buying real estate, building a brick factory and operating a hotel. In the process, Klaus once again assembled a fortune, which he liberally donated for public projects in his newly adopted home. The courthouse was one of his defining achievements. Anton Klaus donated not only the land for the new structure, but paid for the construction plans to build it, and he didn't get just anyone to design his hometown's new courthouse; he hired one of the country's most important architects, Henry C. Koch. Originally a topographic engineer for General Philip H. Sheridan during the Civil War, Henry Koch went on to become one of the nation's most prominent architects, designing landmarks throughout the Midwest, including the Milwaukee City Hall, which at the time was one of the tallest buildings in the country. The Stutsman County Courthouse was Koch's only known building in North Dakota and construction was completed in 1883.
After a long and storied career, the Stutsman County Courthouse was acquired by the State Historical Society on this date in 1987. Despite the many years that have passed, as well as the development and modernization of its surroundings, the building still stands on the original site in downtown Jamestown; an enduring legacy of North Dakota's history and the civic pride of its people.
Dakota Datebook written by Lane Sunwall
Sources
"Anton Klaus," Digital Horizons http://digitalhorizonsonline.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/ndshs-dm&CISOPTR=417&CISOBOX=1&REC=5 (accessed July 13, 2010).
"County of Stutsman Vs. State Historical Society of North Dakota." In Justice Meschke: North Dakota Supreme Court, 1985.
Kahn, Eve M., "Urban Visionaries," Traditional Building http://www.traditional-building.com/Previous-Issues-09/AprilProject09Evans.html (accessed July 13, 2010).
Krause, Joy, "Koch Stood as Tall as His Teeples," The Milwaukee Journal http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4207/is_19950123/ai_n10182227/ (accessed July 13, 2010).
Snortland, J. Signe, ed. A Traveler's Companion to North Dakota State Historic Sites. Bismarck, ND: State Historical Society of North Dakota, 1996.
State Historical Society of North Dakota, "State Historical Society of North Dakota Strategic Long Range Plan" http://www.nd.gov/hist/LRPlan.htm (accessed January 19, 2009).