Wilkin County Courthouse

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

From the record

“The Wilkin County Courthouse is the primary government building of Wilkin County, Minnesota, United States, located in the city of Breckenridge. Built from 1928 to 1929, the courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 for having local significance in the themes of architecture and politics/government.”
Wikipedia article Wilkin County Courthouse, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 7 National Register listings published here for Wilkin County · listed in 1980 · category: Building.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
Address. 316 S. 5th, Breckenridge, 56520
When was it listed? July 1980
Category. building
Also known as. Wilkin County MRA
City. Breckenridge city
Architectural style. Beaux-Arts
Architect. Buechner & Orth
National Register reference number. 80002182 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

7 since 2016

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 7 fires within 5 miles of Wilkin County Courthouse between 2016 and 2020, burning about 9 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Railroad operations and maintenance	2
Fireworks	2
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1
Debris and open burning	1
Equipment and vehicle use	1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
21 August 2020	Equipment and vehicle use	1.0 acres	North Dakota State Forest Service	MASONITE
4 July 2017	Fireworks	1.0 acres	North Dakota State Forest Service	1378
2 July 2016	Fireworks	1.0 acres	North Dakota State Forest Service	7022016
1 June 2020	Debris and open burning	under an acre	North Dakota State Forest Service	2020-1501
4 April 2017	Railroad operations and maintenance	4.0 acres	North Dakota State Forest Service	657
1 April 2019	Railroad operations and maintenance	under an acre	North Dakota State Forest Service	20190707
3 December 2017	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	2.0 acres	North Dakota State Forest Service	2700

Every fire recorded in Wilkin County

Storms near this property

50 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Breckenridge, the town this property stands in, in 50 storm reports between 1996 and 2024: 16 hail, 14 thunderstorm wind, 11 flash flood, 3 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
July 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Breckenridge	$250,000	Numerous large trees were snapped or uprooted at various locations along a roughly 3 mile wide path centered along MN Highway 210. Farm machinery was moved about, doors and roofing materials were torn off farm buildings and homes. Peak winds estimated at 90 to 100 mph at multiple locations.
August 2008	Flash Flood	Breckenridge	$40,000	The city park was flooded and several streets were blocked off due to street flooding.
July 2016	Flash Flood	Breckenridge	$5,000	Fields and farm access roads were flooded near the Doran Slough.
July 2011	Tornado (EF1)	Breckenridge	$5,000	This tornado touched down in a farmstead shelterbelt just east of Lake Breckenridge and tracked near a second residence during its roughly one mile path. Some large trees were knocked down, a number of large branches were broken down and a few shingles were lifted off the house. A two cubic yard metal dumpster was lifted and thrown about 100 feet into a nearby ditch. Peak winds were estimated at 95 mph.
June 2014	Flash Flood	Breckenridge	$5,000	no account filed
June 2024	Hail	Breckenridge	-	Photo of quarter sized hail relayed by broadcast media.
April 2023	Flood	Breckenridge	-	Wahpeton - First crest of 12.29 ft occurred on 4/15, with a secondary crest of 12.51 ft occurring on 4/19.
May 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Breckenridge	-	Several large ash, poplar, and spruce trees snapped or uprooted. Numerous Large branches and limbs broken. Power lines were down and shingles were blown off homes. Time estimated based on radar and nearby wind sensors.
June 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Breckenridge	-	Large tree branches were broken, with diameters of 6 to 8 inches.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Breckenridge	-	The wind gust was measured by a personal weather station.
June 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Breckenridge	-	Numerous trees and power lines were blown down in the Wahpeton-Breckenridge area.
July 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Breckenridge	-	Trees were blown down at the Bois de Sioux golf course.
July 2019	Funnel Cloud	Breckenridge	-	The funnel was nearly overhead.
July 2019	Tornado (EF1)	Breckenridge	-	Twin funnels moved across the Red River north of Breckenridge and produced at least one damaging touchdown path. This tornado was the second (2B) which formed in this cyclic series. It touched down near highway 75 and tracked northeast, breaking numerous large tree branches in shelterbelts along its path. One farmstead had a few ash and cottonwood trees snapped. Peak winds were estimated at 95 mph.
July 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Breckenridge	-	Tree damage was reported.
June 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Breckenridge	-	A small shed and 18 inch diameter trees were blown down.
June 2017	Tornado (EF0)	Breckenridge	-	Video and photographic evidence showed that this tornado produced a sizable dust plume, but no damage of note. Peak winds were estimated at 70 mph.
August 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Breckenridge	-	Numerous large trees were blown down. Power poles and power lines were blown down. An entire steel roof was torn off its rafters and flung southeastward across Minnesota Avenue. Impacts from the debris broke down a steel street light pole and caused incidental damage to other buildings across the street. Peak winds were estimated at 80 mph.
August 2013	Hail	Breckenridge	-	Strong winds and very heavy rainfall was also reported.
August 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Breckenridge	-	Hail up to 1.5 inches in diameter also fell with the very strong winds. Numerous large tree branches were also blown down.
July 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Breckenridge	-	Two 24 inch diameter trees were blown down.
August 2010	Funnel Cloud	Breckenridge	-	The persistent funnel cloud tracked east-northeast to near Foxhome before dissipating.
June 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Breckenridge	-	Several large four to six inch diameter tree branches were blown down.
July 2009	Heavy Rain	Breckenridge	-	Quite a bit of rain fell across the Breckenridge area. Approximately 3.05 inches of rain was measured at the Breckenridge water plant. This caused ponding of water in low spots at the Wilkin County Fair.
September 2008	Flash Flood	Breckenridge	-	Three to five inches of rain fell in 4 hours, which resulted in localized flooding of farm fields and farm access roads. Some street flooding also occurred.
June 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Breckenridge	-	Seven empty railroad grain cars were tipped off a railroad track. 62 other empty railroad cars were pushed one mile south of their parked location.
June 2007	Flood	Breckenridge	-	In Wahpeton/Breckenridge, an estimate 20 to 40 homes had basement flooding or sewer backup. The Wilkin County Emergency Manager estimated at least one road in every township had washed out. On the Red River at Wahpeton/Breckenridge, which was showing a level of about 9.3 feet on the morning of the 1st, the river stage shot up to around 15.6 feet by late in the afternoon of the 3rd (a jump of over 6 feet in about 2 days). Again, the 15.6 river peak would qualify as a top ten historical crest. On the Rabbit River at Campbell, which was showing a level of about 5 feet on the evening of the 1st, the river jumped to around 17.9 feet by the morning of the 3rd (a rise of about 13 feet in a day and a half).
June 2005	Flash Flood	Breckenridge	-	2.5 inches of rain fell in an hour, flooding city streets.
June 2005	Flash Flood	Breckenridge	-	Street flooding was reported after two inches of rain fell in less than an hour.
June 2003	Flash Flood	Breckenridge	-	Water flowed over Highway 75 near the overpass.
July 2002	Lightning	Breckenridge	-	Lightning struck a power pole snapping two electrical lines. Residents lost power for an hour.
August 2002	Flash Flood	Breckenridge	-	Street flooding was reported.
April 2001	Flash Flood	Breckenridge	-	Basement flooding was reported.
July 2019	Hail	Breckenridge	-	no account filed
June 2012	Hail	Breckenridge	-	no account filed
July 2010	Hail	Breckenridge	-	no account filed
July 2008	Hail	Breckenridge	-	no account filed
June 2005	Hail	Breckenridge	-	no account filed
August 2002	Hail	Breckenridge	-	no account filed
July 2000	Hail	Breckenridge	-	no account filed
August 2000	Hail	Breckenridge	-	no account filed
May 1999	Hail	Breckenridge	-	no account filed
August 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Breckenridge	-	no account filed
July 1998	Hail	Breckenridge	-	no account filed
July 1998	Hail	Breckenridge	-	no account filed
April 1997	Flash Flood	Breckenridge	-	no account filed
April 1997	Flash Flood	Breckenridge	-	no account filed
August 1996	Hail	Breckenridge	-	no account filed
August 1996	Hail	Breckenridge	-	no account filed
August 1996	Hail	Breckenridge	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Wilkin County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 80002182 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Wilkin County	All 7 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.