Burke County Courthouse
Main St., Bowbells, NDThe Burke County Courthouse is significant for its role in the history of county affairs and for its architecture. As a courthouse, it has served the county as the central location for county records and county offices and as a site for local trials.
Architecturally it has several features which contribute to its significance. It is one of three North Dakota courthouses (with Ward and Barnes Counties) designed by the St. Paul firm of Toltz, King, and Day. It is unusual among buildings of its age in that it has kept its original window configuration. The lobby arrangement of its interior marks a departure from the segregated-office plan of other courthouses, yet did not influence later design throughout the state. Its exterior styling suggests the declining influence of Classical and Federalist periods of architectural history as sources of inspiration for design at the late 1920's. Compare this with the Barnes and Ward county courthouses.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.