They stand at once as silent reminders of time past as well as the hub of our daily lives. They are the focus of activity in every county--the site of political speeches, holiday parades, and community picnics. They are the courthouses of Minnesota's eighty-seven counties. Writes author Mary Logue, "With a clock tower, the courthouse becomes metaphor, literally the ticking heart at the center of a county."

In this beautiful book are photographs celebrating the variety of Minnesota's county courthouses. From the classic Beaux Arts dome atop the Stearns County Courthouse to the unadorned simplicity of the Sibley County Courthouse, this book offers a parade of some of the finest public buildings in the North Star State.

Paired with Doug Ohman's photos is an essay by poet and mystery writer Mary Logue that reveals the secrets of these buildings we thought we knew. Together they tell the story of these distinctly American structures, symbols of the ways Minnesotans live under the law--with justice, equality, and fairness. As the inscription above the Wilkin County Courthouse declares:

To none will we delay,

To none will we deny,

right or justice.