Photos of Indiana's Historic Courthouses, along with some others
“Like a gentleman dressed for a dinner party, the county courthouse stands above the din of life at its feet. A county seat is not only a land of deeds and wills and court cases. It is also a land of pizza, beer and gasoline1” said John Dilts, lawyer and author of The Magnificent 92 Indiana […]
Read More Jefferson County- Madison (1855)I never thought that researching our state’s historic courthouses would give me reason to crack open a book about cruise missiles, but that all changed today. Why? The Putnam County Courthouse in Greencastle has a buzz bomb, a legitimate German V-1 (Vengeance Weapon 1) flying missile, on its courthouse square as part of its county […]
Read More Putnam County- Greencastle (1905-)We’re back in Perry County this week, but fifteen miles west of Rome in Cannelton. Interesting name, Cannelton, but it was called that after the American Cannel Coal Company who operated a railroad in the area. Cannelton was a relative latecomer to the Perry County scene, as it was platted in 1841 and actually established […]
Read More Perry County- Cannelton (1897-1994)Historians have examined the cities of Rome and Troy for years, trying to ascertain whether one was founded by descendants of the other’s ancient heroes or whether the legendary story is, well, hokum. But rest assured- through my diligent research, I’ve finally cracked the case. Though the two cities were founded at different times by […]
Read More Perry County- Rome (1818-1859)The 1890s brought a lot of architectural changes to American society. For one, Second Empire -a French style that prioritized mansard roofs and elaborate, finicky ornamentation- began to fall by the wayside. The Richardson Romanesque mode, one that incorporated fortresslike massing and rounded arches, was also going the way of the Dodo by the decade’s […]
Read More St. Joseph County- South Bend (1898-1969, 1971-)You’ve got to be a real Indiana courthouse freak to make it down to Mt. Vernon in Posey County. At 249 miles away from my house via I-69, it’s the farthest courthouse from me in the state by a wide margin. It probably is for most people, actually, sitting about as close to the Arkansas […]
Read More Posey County- Mt. Vernon (1876-)One of the first things I learned during this project is that I really hate the “new urbanist” style that defines the new central district of Carmel and other similar developments. For me, the trope is useless in today’s society- we’ve moved beyond the historic construct of a European city center, and the thought that […]
Read More Scott County-Scottsburg (1873/1997-)I’ve been up to my ass in alligators with school lately as I work towards finally getting my degree. With changes in my priorities and situations, this truly couldn’t come at a better time in my life! Unfortunately, it couldn’t have come at a worse time for this blog: I’d finally built up a head […]
Read More Marion County Courthouses- Indianapolis (1876 + 1962): Part TwoI really love Indiana’s courthouses. So much, that I want to marry them! Or be married in one- I can’t decide. I do know that I love them so much that I went to every last gol-durn one of them just to say I did, and took some photos along the way. So why I’d […]
Read More Marion County Courthouses- Indianapolis (1876 + 1962): Part OneAlthough the 1839 Greene County Courthouse in Bloomfield was demolished more than 135 years ago, its cupola has been used as a lawn ornament in town ever since1. Strange, huh?
Read More Greene County- Bloomfield (1839-1885)
Courthousery 