Indiana’s historic courthouses have always been calling cards for travelers. Often reaching unprecedented heights, they stood as testaments to a county’s ambition and vision! Believe it or not, Elkhart County once featured a courthouse too tall for its county seat. In 1905, it was altered to better fit the community. That version still stands, and one of Indiana’s finest.
When I was a kid, Elkhart County’s courthouse in Goshen stood out as the backdrop to many memories at my dad’s house. He moved to the area after my parents divorced, and my brother and I visited him every other weekend. It was usually dark by the time we made it to Elkhart County, and the lighted clock of the courthouse greeted his Escort wagon like a benevolent cyclops beckoning to the safety of his house.
Dad died in 2011, and Elkhart County was my fifth stop after I rebooted my courthouse project in 2015. J.H. Barrows and George O. Garnsey were responsible for the original version of the courthouse, which was completed in 18711. At first, the building measured 82 by 72 feet and featured an enormous clock tower on its south side1. The asymmetrical layout was balanced by a smaller cupola and flagpole positioned to the north.
The main entrances of the courthouse were on its east and west fronts. Each featured monumental stairs that led to classical porticos with 52-foot Corinthian columns! The Italianate building also featured stone quoins and rustication that culminated in a low-hipped roof hidden by a balustrade.
Local officials described it as “imposing in appearance, chaste in design, massive, and of great strength and delicacy of finish…with the clock tower adding greatly to the appearance2.” Unfortunately, architectural preferences changed. By 1905, the courthouse looked downright antiquated compared to symmetrical designs popping up3.
The clock tower, once revered, was considered “oppressively imposing4.” It was removed as part of architects Patton & Miller’s expansion of the building. A more considerate tower with a clay dome was erected in its place at the center of the courthouse, and two new wings were added to the building’s north and south ends.
Today, the shortened Elkhart County Courthouse is still impressive- its 134-feet tall! You wouldn’t know its convoluted architectural history by looking at it since the building successfully transitioned from one style to another. It’s easier to judge the modern Elkhart County Superior Courthouse in downtown Elkhart that was built in 1971.
If you’re a fan of architecture, a trip to Goshen is worth taking. The historic courthouse is one of the state’s best, and downtown Goshen thrives. The square the building sits on is almost as intriguing as the courthouse itself as an enormous park full of memorabilia. I love the natural setting, but the foliage was imposing: it obscured the courthouse enough that I had to go back during the winter to get the decent pictures!
During both of my visits, the square’s ornate Neptune fountain stuck out to me. A gift from a Greek immigrant named James Polezoes, the fountain came after he opened a popular confectionary across the street and wanted to thank the city that enabled his success. 2,000 residents -nearly a quarter of Goshen’s population- showed up at the fixture’s dedication on August 20, 19125!
As intricate as it is, the Elkhart County Courthouse towers over the fountain. Todat, the courthouse is a sentinel to the city’s changing scene! The clock tower and bell mechanism, accurate within one minute per month, still peals to denote each passing hour.
I often think about the roles courthouses play in peoples’ lives. To some, the buildings act as a simple utility that offers a place to pay taxes or see a day in court. For others, courthouses provide the setting to good memories. Others find that they hold bad memories. Fortunately, stories like those of James Polezoes are the kind of human-interest anecdotes I appreciate about a courthouse as I pass it as a tourist.
As far as I’m concerned, I was taught how to drive and pump gas in front of the Elkhart County Courthouse. I found out how to have a snowball fight with my dad at a stopped train. I also learned how to try and process personal loss as we drove home after he died. I processed it again after I returned to Goshen to take photos. These memories aren’t typical courthouse experiences, and I’ve been lucky to circumvent those common profiles so far. Nevertheless, they’re part of what drew me to document Indiana’s courthouses, and I wish my dad had been here to go to a few of them with me.
TL;DR
Elkhart County (pop. 197,559, 6/92)
Goshen (pop. 31,719)
6/92 photographed
Built: 1870, remodeled 1905
Cost: $100,000 ($2.66 million in 2016)
Architect: Patton & Miller
Style: Neoclassical/Italian Renaissance
Courthouse Square: Shelbyville Square
Height: 134 feet
Current Use: County offices and some courts
Photographed: 8/15/15 and 2/18/18
Sources Cited
1 Bartholomew, H.S.K. Pioneer History of Elkhart County, Indiana. Goshen. The Goshen Printing Company, 1930. Print.
2 Bartholomew, H.S.K. Sketches and Stories of Elkhart County, Indiana. Nappanee. E. V. Publishing House, 1936. Print.
3 Whiffen, Marcus. American Architecture Since 1780: A Guide to the Styles. Cambridge. The MIT Press, 1969. Print.
4 National Register of Historic Places, Elkhart County Courthouse, Goshen, Elkhart County, Indiana, National Register # 80000034.
5 “The Neptune Fountain of Goshen, Indiana” The National Herald. The National Herald, Inc. April 11, 2017. Web. Retrieved 5/3/18.
