Divide County Courthouse

Situated prominently at the terminus of Main Street, the Divide County Courthouse is constructed of tan brick with white limestone trim. The facade displays a full-height portico with a dentiled pediment and frieze supported by single Composite columns and flanking brick pilasters. The dome’s tall octagonal drum has bull’s-eye windows at each of the cardinal points and rectangular windows on the other faces. The courthouse’s interior has terrazzo floors, stencil-decorated walls, and in the rotunda are four large murals with scenes of early area history: Indians traveling on horseback, a railroad town, a dairy farm, and a sod house homestead. Panels between the murals have painted eagles resting on wreathed emblems and the dome’s ceiling is stencil painted. Below the murals, a decorative bracketed molding circles the dome, supported by corner pilasters with Corinthian caps. A large brass and glass light fixture hangs from the dome center and consists of a large banded globe and six curved sconces supporting glass globes. The courtroom has a coffered ceiling, and there is another large mural above the judge’s bench. A two-story brick sheriff’s residence and jail was constructed in conjunction with the courthouse, a combination of judicial and law enforcement functions typical of many of the state’s courthouse complexes.