Vevay is one of Indiana’s most breathtaking county seats. Nestled on the Ohio River, the town’s combination of riverfront beauty and rolling hills blew me away when I first visited! I’d love to live there, and the 1862 Switzerland County Courthouse is a big reason why.
I first visited the Switzerland County Courthouse in Vevay in 2011. On our way, a friend and I ran into construction signs just south of East Enterprise. The dates of upcoming roadwork appeared to coincide with our trip, but I ignored them in a flurry of naiveté and bravado. I figured we were well within the tolerance as we barreled towards Vevay! Unfortunately, we weren’t.
It took ten miles to discover that the road ended in a pile of rebar and rubble after the first warning sign. I could see downtown Vevay from the bluff, but we had to scramble back to East Enterprise to find a different route just before sunset. Chelsea and I made it just in time, but I went back three years later for better photos.
I learned more about the area between my trips to Vevay. The first people to arrive in Switzerland County were -prepare yourself- Swiss. In its early days, Vevay’s economy was based on river transportation and agriculture. By the 1840s, the area evolved into a center of hay production. Local farmers shipped it downstream to New Orleans, where it sold for twice the price it did in Indiana.
Switzerland County thrived, but the railroad eventually usurped the river as the main source of transportation. In response, Vevay became “a quaint old town, nestling at the foot of lofty mountains, in the midst of vineyards and gardens of beautiful flowers1.” It hasn’t changed much since.
The first courthouse in Vevay was built in 1816, just two years after the town was founded. The brick building measured 36 x 32 feet and cost $17052. It served until 1862, and the current courthouse was erected two years later.
Officials in Switzerland County coveted the Jefferson County Courthouse in nearby Madison. They wanted it for themselves! To that end, they hired its building superintendent, Matthew Temperly, and had him cop David Dubach’s blueprints for Jefferson County’s3. Aside from minor changes and subsequent renovations over the years, the courthouse in Vevay is almost identical to the one in nearby Madison.
The resultant building is three stories tall. The front of it features a pedimented portico supported by Corinthian columns that rise from a rusticated, triple-arched limestone base. A hipped roof, six chimneys, and a metal drum cap the structure, while a copper dome with four clock faces serves as the cherry on top4.
The courthouse stood for 143 years until its outline changed. In 2005, a two-story wing was added to the rear of the structure. The addition represents the spirit of the old courthouse but extends wide on the original building’s X-axis. A glass hyphen links the buildings together and the addition is about as unobtrusive as they come.
One of Vevay’s “can’t miss” features sits right behind the new wing. A hexagonal outhouse built in the mid-1800s was moved to its present site during the 2005 expansion. With four of its original six doors, the latrine’s standing-seam metal roof is topped with a louvered cupola for ventilation. I was glad to be privy to its existence.
Beyond the addition and outhouse, the Switzerland County Courthouse remains close to its initial design aside from its color. Originally painted white5, the building was stained “Battleship Gray” in 19416. It maintained that color scheme until the 1970s when it was sandblasted to its current shade of virgin red brick.
Inside, the first floor of the courthouse retains its original doors and Greek Revival framings but features drop ceilings. Aside from secure areas, all of the windows still have their folding wood shutters! Floors in the first-story offices are carpeted, but those in the building’s entryway and corridors are vinyl tile. The basement of the courthouse features exposed rubble walls and a dirt floor.
The real show-stopped of the Switzerland County Courthouse is its double-height courtroom on the building’s second floor. There, a projection behind the judge’s podium features an archway framed by columns and pilasters. A vintage speaking tube -a common feature in courthouses of the era- is attached to the west wall6. A balcony with solid railings sits above the rear of the courtroom, and a golden plaster entablature connects the walls with the ceiling7.
I only went up and down State Road 56 through Vevay twice, but I wish I’d better planned my trips to spend more time in town. I’d love to check out the Switzerland County Historical Museum, the Schenck Mansion, the Armstrong Tavern, and the rest of what the quaint place offers. With one of Indiana’s few pre-Civil War courthouses, the old jail, and that hexagonal outhouse, Vevay packs quite a historic punch.
TL;DR
Switzerland County (pop. 10,526, 85/92)
Vevay (pop. 1,681)
39/92 photographed
Built: 1864, expanded 2005.
Cost: $29,724.90 ($454,978 in 2016)
Architect: David Dubach, by proxy
Style: Greek Revival
Courthouse Square: Shelbyville Square
Height: 3 stories
Current Use: County offices and courts
Photographed: 8/23/15
Sources Cited
1 National Register of Historic Places, Switzerland County Courthouse, Vevay, Switzerland County, Indiana, National Register # 09000435.
2 Enyart, David. “Switzerland County” Indiana County Courthouse Histories. ACPL Genealogy Center, 2010-2018. Web. Retrieved 12/8/19.
3 Indiana Landmarks (2013). Switzerland County. Indianapolis. Indiana Landmarks. Web. Retrieved 12/9/19.
4 Atlas of Switzerland and Ohio Counties, Indiana.(Philadelphia: D.J.Lake & Co., 1883).
5 Switzerland County Commissioners’ Record, Book D, p. 48.
6 Switzerland CountyCommissioners’ Record, Book 2, p. 57.
7 Paul Kenneth Goeldner, Temples of Justice: Nineteenth Century County^^.
