Buechner & Orth

Buechner & Orth was a St. Paul, Minnesota-based architectural firm that designed buildings in Minnesota and surrounding states, including 13 courthouses in North Dakota. It was the subject of a 1979 historic resources study.[1]

Grand Forks County Courthouse

Charles W. Buechner, the founding partner, was born in Germany in 1859.[1]^: 11 He emigrated to the United States in 1874 and worked for a time at the Northern Pacific Railway as a surveyor and civil engineer, eventually becoming the Superintendent of Tracks, Buildings and Bridges. He left the Northern Pacific and studied architecture under noted Minnesota architect Clarence H. Johnston Sr. In 1892, he founded the firm Buechner & Jacobson with partner John H. Jacobson. They designed at least three Minnesota courthouses in the popular Richardsonian Romanesque style.[1]^: 11

In 1902, John Jacobson died, so Buechner formed a new partnership with Henry W. Orth, a recent Norwegian immigrant. They designed the Pierce County Courthouse in the Neoclassical Revival style popularized by the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. In the next 25 years, they designed at least 19 other courthouses in this style.[1]^: 11