The red brick Howard County Courthouse in Cresco dates to 1880, constructed at a cost of under $7,000. By 1938, portions of the building had been condemned, but a proposal to construct a new courthouse facility was soundly defeated. Another proposal to build a new courthouse was voted down in 1955, but in 1964, voters approved a $60,000 bond issue to extend the courthouse with additions to the north and south of the existing building. The Howard County Courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.