BlockFrom the record
One of 13 National Register listings published here for Douglas County · listed in 1985 · category: Building.
Sources: the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
Douglas County Courthouse
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
The listing
- What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
- Address. 320 7th Ave., W., Alexandria, 56308
- When was it listed? August 1985
- Category. building
- City. Alexandria city
- Architectural style. Romanesque Revival architecture
- National Register reference number. 85001816 - 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
22 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 22 fires within 5 miles of Douglas County Courthouse between 1992 and 2009, burning about 195 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 17 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 1 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2006 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 29 September 1992 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 31 July 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 3 May 1997 | Debris and open burning | 10 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 2 May 1999 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 8 April 2003 | Debris and open burning | 2.5 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 4 April 2004 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 4 April 1999 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Mines and quarries near this property
3 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Douglas County Courthouse: 2 producers, 1 past producer. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jensen Pit and Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Northland Pit and Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Wayne Lee Pit and Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this property
44 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Alexandria, the town this property stands in, in 44 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 20 thunderstorm wind, 16 hail, 2 tornado, 2 flash flood. The reports record 4 injuries. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 1996 | Tornado (F2) | Alexandria | 4 hurt | no account filed |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alexandria | - | Thunderstorm wind gust estimated at 65 mph downed several trees in Alexandria. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alexandria | - | Multiple trees were down along with power lines on roads. |
| May 2022 | Tornado (EF1) | Alexandria | - | A fast moving tornado (storms were moving northeast at 70 mph) touched down near Donna Drive and West Meadow Lane on the northwest edge of Alexandria, then tracked across Lake Darling before hitting land again along County Road 11. Numerous houses were hit on the south side of Lake Darling. After crossing Lake Darling, the tornado damage was mostly to trees, with less damage directly to houses, as the tornado was becoming weaker in this area. It dissipated on land shortly after moving across a small part of the southwest portion of Lake Carlos. Maximum winds were estimated at 110 mph. |
| June 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alexandria | - | A large tree blew down over a road east of Alexandria, near Lake Geneva. |
| June 2009 | Funnel Cloud | Alexandria | - | A funnel cloud was observed by a storm chaser and local storm spotters just east of Alexandria. |
| June 2009 | Hail | Alexandria | - | Trained spotter reported large hail on the north side of Alexandria, Minnesota. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alexandria | - | Trained spotters reported a large tree blown down. |
| June 2008 | Hail | Alexandria | - | In addition, a gust of 56 mph was recorded at the Alexandria airport. |
| April 2006 | Hail | Alexandria | - | The quarter size hail occurred near Lake Taylor. |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alexandria | - | Large tree limb down across power line. |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alexandria | - | Four inch tree branches were downed onto Interstate 94. |
| July 2005 | Lightning | Alexandria | - | Four homes were struck by lightning. A home on South Union Lake Road suffered a 16 inch hole where a bolt struck the house. A home on County Road 44 reported items being knocked off walls and a hole in the wall from a lightning strike. A lightning strike fried wires at a home on Kyle Drive. A home that was struck on North McKay Avenue suffered no damage. |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alexandria | - | A tree was downed on the south end of Lake Mary. |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alexandria | - | Trees were felled onto several houses near county roads 11 and 34. |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alexandria | - | A tree was downed at the intersection of 6th Avenue and Cedar Street. |
| June 2005 | Heavy Rain | Alexandria | - | Legion Park, between 8th and 9th avenues, was flooded by heavy downpours. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alexandria | - | Measured by MNDOT road weather system along Interstate 94. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alexandria | - | Several trees toppled. |
| May 2003 | Hail | Alexandria | - | Hail covered ground. |
| June 2003 | Flash Flood | Alexandria | - | County wide flooding. Several inches of rainfall. Highway 27 was flooded northwest of Kensington. Street flooding and roads under water in Alexandria and Nelson. |
| July 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alexandria | - | Trees down. |
| June 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alexandria | - | Tree down. |
| July 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alexandria | - | Few trees down across power lines. |
| July 2002 | Flash Flood | Alexandria | - | Numerous streets flooded. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alexandria | - | 40 trees blown down at golf course. Estimated windspeed. |
| August 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alexandria | - | Trees blown down. Estimated windspeed. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alexandria | - | Trees and power lines blown down. Estimated windspeed. |
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alexandria | - | Numerous trees down. House damaged by tree. |
| June 2025 | Hail | Alexandria | - | no account filed |
| June 2024 | Hail | Alexandria | - | no account filed |
| May 2018 | Hail | Alexandria | - | no account filed |
| September 2014 | Hail | Alexandria | - | no account filed |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alexandria | - | no account filed |
| August 2010 | Funnel Cloud | Alexandria | - | no account filed |
| August 2010 | Hail | Alexandria | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Alexandria | - | no account filed |
| September 2005 | Hail | Alexandria | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Alexandria | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | Alexandria | - | no account filed |
| June 1997 | Hail | Alexandria | - | no account filed |
| June 1996 | Hail | Alexandria | - | no account filed |
| August 1996 | Hail | Alexandria | - | no account filed |
| August 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alexandria | - | no account filed |
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.
Listed places nearby
6 within 8 milesOther National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Noah P. Ward House | under 500 feet | 1985 |
| Alexandria Residential Historic District | 0.1 miles | 1991 | |
 | Alexandria Public Library | 0.1 miles | 1985 |
 | U.S. Post Office-Alexandria | 0.2 miles | 1979 |
 | Thomas F. Cowing House | 0.5 miles | 1985 |
 | Great Northern Passenger Depot | 0.5 miles | 1985 |
Sources for this property
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 85001816 in Record Group 79. |
| Douglas County | All 13 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.
- Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
- 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.