Nashville, Indiana, is a charming town home to a vibrant arts and crafts community. Nestled in the hills of southern Indiana, the place attracts visitors from across the region, particularly when the leaves change color. It’s a place where the past and present coexist, and the 150-year-old Brown County Courthouse stands at the center of it all.
Brown County and Nashville were both founded in 18361. The following year, David Weddle built a two-story log courthouse and jail. The building’s services were no longer needed by 1853, so it was moved off the courthouse square to become a horse stable2.
A brick replacement was completed shortly after. It lasted nineteen years before a fire brought it down. Frugal commissioners retained its remaining walls and foundations, and architects McCormack & Sweeney incorporated them into the present courthouse3 completed in 1875.
That courthouse isn’t much compared to grand structures found elsewhere, but it fits the community it serves. It’s also a hearty reminder of what government buildings across the state looked like before Indiana’s courthouse boom took hold! It rises two stories above downtown, and the building’s aesthetic elements come from the Greek Revival mode of architecture that was common when it was built.
Many people associate Greek Revival with columns, but the Brown County Courthouse doesn’t feature any. Instead, brickwork at its corners and between its window bays suggests pilasters. Ornamentation is scarce, but a louvered vent under the prominent gable adds some understated flair, as does a simple belfry.
The courthouse faces south. In its original configuration, people entered the building through a pair of panel doors topped by a glass transom. Large, four-over-four windows with sandstone sills and lintels frame that original entryway, as do a pair of iron stairways that rise to a door on the second story.
As designed, the first floor of the courthouse was home to county offices. The second story held a courtroom, jury room, and judge’s chambers. Even the county’s school superintendent worked from within the building! Since those days, the courthouse has been expanded to the north. The first addition, a single-story extension to provide space for county health facilities, was built in 1939. Shortly after, a second floor was added to give the judge more space4.
The courthouse was remodeled again in 1964 as part of a project that updated its wiring and fixtures. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, the rotten belfry was replaced in 1989. Another major addition came three years later when an elevator, hearing room, and more offices were added. During the renovation, workers digging the pit for the elevator hydraulics discovered enormous stones thought to have been used in the foundation of the 1853 courthouse5!
The additions don’t quite match the scale of the original courthouse, but they’re sympathetic and well done. Today, the majority of the county’s administrative offices are located a few blocks north in a building that resembles an apartment complex. I didn’t take any photos of it, but if I had, I’d surely have noticed Nashville’s log jail.
Brown County’s first jail was built the same year as its first courthouse. Signs around the property identify the two-story building as that first jail, but it seems the building was replaced in 1879. At the very least, another layer of logs was added to the structure to keep prisoners from escaping6!
There may be some confusion about its provenance, but we do know that the jail was reconstructed by Bird Snyder, the fourth great-grandson of its original builder, William Snyder, in 20157. I love authenticity and people named after animals. The story of the jail is a fantastic piece of local history that spans several generations.
Nashville is one of Indiana’s most picturesque county seats. It’s also the most timeless, the kind of place where centuries-old architecture stands next to welcoming storefronts. Downtown is always packed when I visit, but the Brown County Courthouse is a capable anchor to the whirlwind of activities. I don’t know of another in the state that better represents rural America’s authentic spirit.
TL:DR
Brown County (pop. 15,023, 79/92)
Nashville (pop. 1,082)
69/92 photographed.
Built: 1873
Cost: $9,000 ($1.79 million in 2016)
Architect: McCormack & Sweeney
Style: Greek Revival
Courthouse Square: Shelbyville Square
Height: 2 stories.
Current Use: Courts and some county offices
Photographed: 3/27/16.
Sources Cited
1 Tikkanen, Amy. “Nashvile” Encylopedia Brittanica. Web. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
2 Enyart, David. “Brown County” Indiana County Courthouse Histories. ACPL Genealogy Center, 2010-2018. Web. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
3 Courthouse History. Keith Vincent. 2018. Web. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
4 “Looking Back on Our Courthouse” Our Brown County. Web. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
5 “Welcome to Michael Chamblee- Architect” Michael Chamblee. Web. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
6 “Old Log Jail” Brown County Historical Society. Web. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
8 Baker, Ronald. “From Needmore to Prosperity”. Indiana University Press [Bloomington]. 1995. Print.
