U.S. Federal Courthouse

Remaining almost entirely in its original appearance, this 1915 courthouse was the site of most of the trials relating to Prohibition violations in North Dakota.

Prohibition was not a federal mandate until 1919, but North Dakota had a state ban in place on alcohol manufacture, sale, and transport since the adoption of the original state constitution. Despite this, the judges who oversaw this court adjudicated liquor law violations frequently.

For its significance to both local and national history, this classical revival building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

This classical revival building is one of the few in the downtown district that continues to operate in its original function. The U.S. Postal Service operated out of this facility from its construction in 1915 until 1961, when the current location on 5^th Avenue was opened. This is also where the local Prohibition agents were based out of, and where trials for breaches of Prohibition laws across many of the neighboring counties took place.

As one of the few federal courthouses in the state, blind pig operators, bootleggers, and transporters had to come to Minot for their trial. Aside from a major addition which was constructed in 1940, the building remains the same in appearance as it was in the days of those Prohibition trials.

Today, the building remains active as one of four federal courtrooms in the state of North Dakota in the Eight District Court of Appeals. It stands in interesting architectural contrast to the Ward County Courthouse two blocks over. While this building is maintained in the classical revival style, a still popular choice for federal buildings, the county courthouse is staunchly in the art deco style. Their differences mirror a symbolic relationship between federal oversight and local governance in the city, a relationship that was strengthened to its present day strength because of the cooperation which was necessary to curtail Prohibition violations.

As a landmark of the city of Minot, the building was entered into the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

“National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form for Federal Properties,” United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 9, 13 August 1980, accessed 18 July 2023, https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_ND/80002930.pdf.

 “Photographic Postcard of U.S. Post Office, Minot,” Ronald Olin North Dakota Postcard Collection, North Dakota State University Libraries, Institute for Regional Studies, undated, accessed 18 July 2023, https://ndsu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma9943247370001321&context=L&vid=01ODIN_NDSU:ndsu&lang=en&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=Everything&query=any,contains,ronald%20olin%20postcard&mode=basic.