Indiana’s earliest county seats were dynamic places that frequently relocated as local governments found their footing. Most changed seats once in a while, but none can hold a candle to Martin County. After the place was established, its seat moved nine times! Today, a modern courthouse in Shoals stands testament to the area’s tumultuous past.
Martin County was originally part of Knox as early as 1790. It was ceded to Daviess in 1817, and struck out on its own three years later. Residents of Hindostan courted officials with land, cash, and a bell, but a plague spread through the town. Most of the residents died by 1833. Today, there’s nothing left of the place aside from a cemetery1.
Greener pastures beckoned in Mount Pleasant, so the county seat moved there in 1828. Government buildings were erected the following year, but commissioners decided that area government would work better if it stood within 3.5 miles of the county’s center. Officials picked up again and moved to Halbert’s Bluff, then Memphis2. Residents in the north and west sides of the county were upset with the relocation, so a series of courthouses followed in Trinity Springs, Dover Hill, and again in Trinity Springs.
The confusion continued, but no one addressed its root cause. To my eye, the underlying problem behind Martin County’s early geopolitical struggles was that most new county seats couldn’t wrangle up a suitable courthouse quick enough to please officials. When efforts lagged, commissioners chose to move elsewhere3, and that was that.
Ironically, none of the towns that took the time to plat an actual courthouse square ever received the nod4. All that’s left of those old county seats is the jail at Dover Hill, which is now a home. Fortunately, commissioners finally figured things out around 1871, when the county seat moved from Hillsboro to West Shoals.
Established on the site of Memphis and Halbert’s Bluff, Shoals and West Shoals eventually merged to become the county seat we know today. After the first courthouse was destroyed by fire, officials rebuilt it in 1877. The landmark served Martin County until the new millennium, but it struggled to keep up with modern society. Commissioners realized they needed to make a change.
A parallel universe probably saw officials move back to Trinity Springs, then Mt. Pleasant and Dover Hill. In reality, they purchased the old Martin County Bank building across the river in 1999. The transaction alarmed history buffs who feared the old courthouse would be destroyed. As a result, two nonprofits joined forces to raise awareness5. The county sold the elderly building for a dollar and it became home to the Martin County Museum.
The current courthouse couldn’t look more different from its predecessor. For one, it has a drive-thru lane! Its builders, Midwestern Engineers of nearby Loogootee6, didn’t emphasize frivolities, and the structure’s most obvious ornamentation is found within a decorative stone near the entrance. There, three diamonds contain the initials “MCC.” The first two letters reference Martin County, but the second C looks different. I’m sure it was carved over a “B” when the bank became the courthouse.
It might not seem like it at first glance, but the current Martin County Courthouse has much in common with Richardson Romanesque and Brutalist peers around Indiana. Both banks and courthouses often feature fortresslike designs to reinforce safety and permanence! That said, the Martin County Courthouse is pretty nondescript from the front, aside from its scored walls and projecting entrance.
Made up of twenty-six vertical concrete panels with a limestone band, the northeastern side is a little more interesting. Five narrow windows bookended by precast panels dominate the view as the rear of the split-level courthouse extends down a hill. The rear features the same motif, and the southwest side is dominated by a two-lane drive-thru window.
A courthouse without a clock doesn’t seem right, but Martin County features two at its northeast corner. The first, a digital time-and-temperature display- dates from the building’s time as a bank. The second is an old-timey replica that looks out of place in its modern surroundings. Ultimately, the current Martin County Courthouse is a functional replacement for an elderly predecessor unsuitable for the struggles of modern government.
I can’t fault officials for their decision to leave. I’d be fine if the courts met in a Dollar General so long as the 1877 landmark remained standing! At least the current courthouse looks like a courthouse =albeit a small one= if you squint. More importantly, it acts like one! Lots of work needs done to return its predecessor to former glory, but I’m glad the present structure takes the burden off as it undergoes restoration.
TL;DR
Martin County (pop. 10,160, 87/92)
Shoals (pop. 736)
84/92 photographed
Built: 1982
Cost: Unknown
Architect: Midwestern Engineers, Inc.
Style: Modern
Courthouse Square: None
Height: Two stories
Current Use: County offices and courts
Photographed: 7/10/2016, 7/7/2018.
Sources Cited
1 “Hindostan Cemetery” Find A Grave. Ancestry.com, LLC. Web. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
2 “Shoals attracting attention with pure civic pride” The Herald [Jasper]. April 26, 1999. 4. Print.
3 National Register of Historic Places, Martin County Courthouse, Shoals, Martin County, Indiana, National Register # 05000604.
4 Enyart, David. “Martin County” Indiana County Courthouse Histories. ACPL Genealogy Center, 2010-2018. Web. Retrieved 1/14/20.
5 “Groups unite to save courthouse” The Vincennes Sun-Commercial [Vincennes]. January 20, 2003. 3. Print.
6 Deacon, J. “Martin County”. American Courthouses. 2008. Web. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
