Windom Minnesota
County seat of Cottonwood County
Windom is a city in Cottonwood County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 4,646 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Cottonwood County and is situated in the Coteau des Prairies.
Although it is a small, rural farming community, Windom is host to several parks including a newly installed disc golf course at Mayflower Park. The Des Moines River flows through Windom and serves as a gentle, rapid-free canoeing spot.
Windom was platted in June 20, 1871 by A.L. Beach, an engineer for the Sioux City and St. Paul Railroad. Twelve lots were created and sold for $100 on the first day. It was incorporated as a village in 1875 and reincorporated on September 9, 1884. The city was named after William Windom, who served as a United States Senator from Minnesota from 1881–1883, and was United States Secretary of the Treasury under presidents James Garfield, Chester Arthur and Benjamin Harrison, by Judson W. Bishop.
Lawrence "Larry" Abraham Buhler (May 28, 1917 – August 21, 1990) was a fullback/halfback in the National Football League who played 21 games for the Green Bay Packers. He played for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers under Bernie Bierman. In 1939, the Green Bay Packers used the 9th pick in the 1st round of the 1939 NFL Draft to sign Buhler out of the University of Minnesota. Buhler played for three seasons with the Packers and retired in 1941. Buhler ended his working career as the manager of the municipal liquor store in Windom, Minnesota. He worked as assistant manager and manager for 16 years and 8 months before retiring at the end of 1983. A statue of Buhler was erected on the grounds of the Cottonwood County Courthouse and was dedicated in 1993.
The Cottonwood County Courthouse is a governmental building of Cottonwood County, Minnesota, United States. It is located at 900 3rd Avenue in the county seat of Windom. It was designed by architects Omeyer and Thori and was built in 1904. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 18, 1977.
"In 1903, the Cottonwood board of commissioners toured four midwestern states before deciding to hire Omeyer and Thori of St. Paul as the architect.
The building, which cost nearly $60,000 to build, rises from a basement level of deep red sandstone through two stories of buff-colored brick. Identical grand pedimented porticos on the north and south are supported by two pairs of Corinthian columns with spread eagles in their capitals. The building is crowned with an octagonal drum, which supports a segmented dome two stories above the level of the roof. A figure of Justice stands on top. Shallow segmented domes painted silver top the four large corner pavilions.
The two-story central rotunda is the dominant feature inside. The rotunda murals and the gold-leaf-embellished mural of Justice above the bench in the courtroom — said to be patterned after a painting in the Palace of Justice in Paris — was completed by L.A. Thiel & Co., fresco artists from Chicago.
In 1940, the north and south entrances were enclosed and sagging wooden floors were replaced in 1953. The court area, rest rooms, and lighting have been updated and a law library has been added. In 1975, the rotunda was refurbished and the Windom Lions’ Club donated a set of chimes on the outside of the building. Four years later, the statue of Justice was lowered and restored."
From (http://www.mncourts.gov/Find-Courts/Cottonwood/CourthouseHistory.aspx)
The Old Country Store. A Western clothing, boots and tack store that was "THE" place to get your cowboy on until the late 1980's. This photo was about 20 years after it's prime.
Railroad bridge of the steel trestle type spanning the West fork of the Des Moines River in Windom, MN.
The courthouse is located in a wonderful down town square. These are some of the businesses surronding the square.
