Touring Jamestown’s 1883 Stutsman County Courthouse, North Dakota’s Oldest Surviving Courthouse

Jamestown’s 1883 Stutsman County Courthouse at 504 Third Ave. SE stands as North Dakota’s oldest surviving courthouse and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The State Historical Society of North Dakota manages the site and lists the building as the 1883 Stutsman County Courthouse State Historic Site.

The building was designed by Wisconsin architect Henry C. Koch and, according to State Historical Society text, was completed in less than a year in 1883. The courthouse is one of only two county courthouses in North Dakota in the Gothic Revival style, and the west wing was added in 1926 by architect Gilbert R. Horton. The property covers roughly 2.8 acres.

Inside, pressed metal coats the interior walls; the State Historical Society describes the facility as having "the most complete collection of pressed tin in North Dakota and perhaps, the Midwest." Sources report that restoration efforts have been continuous since the 1990s and that the site has seen "tremendous progress on the interior restoration" in recent years.

The courthouse has a central place in North Dakota’s path to statehood. Delegates to the state constitutional convention were elected at the building, and meetings in 1885 to discuss division of the Dakota Territory took place there. Visitors are invited to "Visit the birthplace of North Dakota statehood!" and the State Historical Society calls the building "the birthplace of statehood."

Government use of the building ended in the early 1980s when Stutsman County vacated the premises and proposed demolition to create a parking lot. Local citizens rallied to save the building and legal fights followed; the State Historical Society’s account states ownership transferred in 1987 after 15 years of legal battles, while local tourism pages record the transfer in 1991. State Historical Society and local records differ on the exact transfer year.

Practical visitor information is reported variably across site materials. The address appears as 504 Third Ave. SE or 504 3rd Ave SE, Jamestown ND 58401, coordinates about 46.90386 N, -98.70560 W, and site contact phone is 701.328.1883 with site email shs1883courthouse@nd.gov and State Historical Society main line 701.328.2666. Operating hours are listed seasonally on some pages - Tuesday after Labor Day through Memorial Weekend open Tuesday–Saturday 9 a.m.–5 p.m. and Memorial Weekend through Labor Day open daily 9 a.m.–5 p.m. - while North Dakota Tourism lists the site open Tuesday–Saturday 9 a.m.–5 p.m. and closed Sunday–Monday.

The courthouse remains an active venue for living history and commemoration. Discover Jamestown and state tourism listings describe a two-day living history weekend marking the 164th Infantry’s World War II departure with sessions listed as Saturday, Feb. 28, 9 a.m.–5 p.m., and Sunday, March 1, 9 a.m.–noon; the program is described as "free and open to the public" and is presented by the 1883 Stutsman County Courthouse State Historic Site and the 164th Infantry Remembrance Association.

With National Register protection, ongoing restoration since the 1990s, and a program schedule that brings reenactors and public events to 504 Third Ave. SE, Jamestown’s 1883 courthouse remains both a preserved architectural landmark and a civic site tied directly to North Dakota’s statehood story.