Photos of Indiana's Historic Courthouses, along with some others
I used to hate additions to historic buildings. I couldn’t believe the crass ways architects added onto those local treasures! Of course, it eventually occurred to me that the people who most often frequent an old building for business, work, or whatever are probably the least likely to appreciate its historic details but are likely […]
Read More Union County, Ohio- Marysville (1883-)This sucks: I was reading about Theodore Roosevelt the other day, a giant of a man who happens to not only be my namesake, but someone who also hated being called Teddy. One of his famous quotations came after his daughter Alice -known for her outspoken celebrity- crashed an Oval Office meeting one too many […]
Read More Pickaway County, Ohio- Circleville (1847/1889-)I’ve been doing my courthousery project for a long time. So long, in fact, that -as my brother puts it- “They’re starting to build NEW courthouses!” Not quite, but…yeah.
Read More Porter County- Portage (1980-)A version of this post originally appeared here on March 12, 2018. Quick- jot this down! “It must be free from dampness, which would destroy the precious records of the county, on which so much of the ‘peace and quiet’ of our community depends. It must, of course, be fire proof and sufficiently commodious for […]
Read More Henry County- New Castle (1869-)As many times as I’ve been to Angola over the years, I’ve never actually ventured within the city limits. Let me explain: Sure, I’d been to Pokagon State Park for the toboggan slide there, but that’s way northwest of the town up on Lake James. Same goes for the now-defunct Fun Spot amusement park, where some […]
Read More Steuben County- Angola (1869-)Let me do some quick calculations here: I’ve driven more than 10,000 miles to courthouses in four states, and I’ve spent more than 170 hours behind the wheel- that’s an average of nearly 58 miles per hour. I’ve made decent time! I’ve covered all of Indiana’s courthouses, most in central Michigan, all of western Ohio, […]
Read More Switzerland County- Vevay (1862-)Some of our courthouse squares are thriving, some are moribund, and others are in stasis. Some feature a courthouse that dominates the center of downtown, some are threatened by the removal of the courts to greener pastures almost outside city boundaries, and some just flat-out don’t exist anymore at all. Despite the differences, studies have […]
Read More Marshall County- Plymouth (1872-)Indiana’s history is full of times that politics had a say in shutting down an old courthouse in order to move the county government elsewhere. Other times, politics has worked in favor of our historic buildings. Today, we’ll examine a county that exhibits both of those traits.
Read More Dearborn County- Lawrenceburg (1873-)I’ve been busy lately with the start of a new semester and other new responsibilities, but I’ve allotted enough spare time here and there to briefly keep up with the news. The notorious Hoosier bank robber John Dillinger has been making the rounds there lately, eighty-five years after his bloody demise at the hands of […]
Read More Lake County- Crown Point (1880-1971)A few months ago I went to the gas station before work to buy some water. There was a sale on spring water -99 cents for a quart- so I bought two. I took it to the register, when the cashier scanned it, glanced down at me, and said, “you know- you could get electrolyte […]
Read More Morgan County- Martinsville (1859-)