Friday Harbor was chosen as the county seat when San Juan became a county in 1873. Until 1906 the affairs of the new county were conducted in various wood frame buildings, the first, a 16×24 foot shack which served as the courthouse and the home of Edward Warbass, the county’s first auditor; the second, a two-story wood-frame building at the southeast corner of Spring and First streets.
In 1906 the county commissioners approved plans for a new building, one that would “assume graceful proportions” and to be “in keeping with the dignity and growing importance of San Juan County.” Seattle architect, William P. White, designed the building; the estimated cost was $12,000, the actual cost was $14,000. There were structural issues early on: a collapsed roof during construction, and six months later, foundation settling. In the 1980’s, the adequacy and safety of the building again came into question and the building was vacated. Ten years later, the building became a designated national landmark, while locally the community debated over whether to save or demolish it. A special advisory ballot passed by the voters finally tipped the scales toward restoration. In 2006 the stately and historic building celebrated 100 years of government service.
