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[graphic] Pipestone County Courthouse
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[photo] Pipestone County Courthouse
Courtesy of Lorraine Draper

The County Courthouse is the most elaborately designed building in Pipestone County and is among the most outstanding examples of local use of quartzite stone. Built on land donated by Daniel Sweet, the Courthouse was designed by architect George Pass in 1899 and constructed by C. H. Peltier at a cost of $45,000. The Beaux Arts style is a particularly interesting choice for the building because of its association with power and civic pride. The building is noted for its architectural merit consisting of a rectangular plan with two slightly projecting bays at either end of the front facade and projecting entrances on both sides. A highly decorated square tower in the center of the front facade rises 110 feet above the ground and is topped by a dome and a figure of Lady Justice. The four clock faces in the tower have no clockworks and were never intended to function.


[photo] Detail of the Pipestone County Courthouse tower
Courtesy of Lorraine Draper
The Courthouse lawn contains the Memorial Soldier statue sculpted of Duluth sandstone by Leon H. Moore, a prominent Pipestone citizen. The four sides of the base contain the names of 204 Civil War and Spanish American War veterans from Pipestone County. For 24 years, a Civil War cannon, given by the City of Pipestone, joined the statue. The cannon eventually was returned to patriotic service by being donated to the scrap metal drive during World War II. In 1962, the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars purchased a surplus World War II Sherman tank to honor the veterans of the 20th-century wars. The tank is located on the north lawn along with the Memorial Soldier statue. The Courthouse underwent a complete restoration in 1995 and was rededicated in November of 1996.

The Pipestone County Courthouse is located at 416 S. Hiawatha Ave., Pipestone. Visit https://www.pipestone-county.com for more information.

[graphic] Link to essay on Pipestone County History [graphic] Link to essay on Downtown Revitalization[graphic] Link to essay on Pipestone: The Rock

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