More than four decades have passed since a historic courthouse in Indiana was torn down. Recent years have seen a resurgence in the appreciation of our iconic buildings! Courthouses in Cass, Dearborn, Jefferson, LaPorte, Montgomery, Randolph, and Washington Counties have all undergone repairs, restorations, and expansions, but officials in Pulaski County nearly bucked the trend- twice!
Founded in 1835, Pulaski County took its name from Casimir Pulaski, a Polish soldier in the American Revolutionary War1. The town of Winamac was made county seat in 1839. To support the county administration, local boosters provided a wooden structure to serve as the courthouse. Unfortunately, the building was quickly deemed unsuitable and was only used for county offices. As a result, courts were held in a nearby schoolhouse until 18492.
Pulaski County’s first purpose-built courthouse was a frame building erected in 1849. A brick structure followed in the early days of the Civil War, but it didn’t comply with state regulations for the purpose of protecting government records. The structure was an embarrassment by the 1890s, and officials ordered a new courthouse at a cost not to exceed $50,0003.
$50,000 wasn’t much for building a courthouse, but architects A.W. and E.A. Rush managed to create an imposing structure with it. Despite the budget constraints, the Pulaski County Courthouse boasts a robust, square, stone design with prominent entrances on all sides like its more expensive counterparts in Rochester and Rushville4. The building’s most striking feature is its 106-foot tower, which rises from a central point above its hipped roof. Otherwise, its 88 x 96-foot floor plan measures about the size of a typical CVS.
Despite its tiny footprint, the courthouse towers over its surroundings. The next-tallest building in Winamac is a three-story, Second Empire structure once home to an opera house5. Vurpillat’s Opera House is the only example of Second Empire architecture in all of Pulaski County, and that may be because Richardson Romanesque buildings like the courthouse largely did away with it.
Henry Hobson Richardson appeared on the scene during the waning days of the Victorian era, and his castle-like structures swept across the nation. Indiana alone is home to nine, including the trio designed by the Rush family. Most of them are known for their heavy ornamentation, but what sets Pulaski County’s courthouse apart is its striking simplicity. The lack of ostentation is surely what helped costs stay below that $50,000 mark, even as its sisters in Fulton and Rush Counties cost triple and quintuple the price6.
Despite its overall simplicity, the Pulaski County Courthouse does have some intriguing ornamentation. Facing north, its main entrance features three arches that highlight its projecting second story. A slender molding connects the arches and culminates in carved leaves and two human faces. My other favorite piece of ornamentation is its series of carved imposts that rise to just below the building’s third floor and imply a balcony. Above it, the center of the courthouse peaks in a high gable surrounded by stubby, pyramidal towers. Its peak features the likeness of a tree.
The Pulaski County Courthouse is a true architectural gem. I was stunned when officials revealed plans to become the first group since the Carter Administration to bulldoze a courthouses here! Nevertheless, commissioners advised that the building was too old, too small, and too noncompliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act to perform its duties in 20187. They also made the lame excuse that the building had more than one door, and that multiple entry points presented a safety risk. Some seemed hell-bent on razing the landmark and paving a parking lot8!
A grassroots activist group quickly emerged to champion the building’s preservation. Indiana Landmarks joined the cause and listed the courthouse on its 10 Most Endangered List. The nonprofit offered support to county commissioners and enlisted Rowland Design to assess the situation. Their combined efforts led to the development of three viable plans and reveal that demolition would be the most expensive option.
At $4.5 million, the first plan proposed renovating the courthouse and keeping the circuit court there. The second concept suggested remodeling the courthouse and moving the courts to the modern justice center across the street, which would allow county offices to return to the downtown area. The $7.5 million final idea involved demolishing the courthouse and expanding the modern justice center.
Officials ultimately chose the middle plan: stabilizing the courthouse with various infrastructure upgrades while relocating the courts to the modern justice center across the street9. The approach promised to preserve the historic building as a cornerstone of downtown Winamac for years to come! Sadly, the decision was thrown into uncertainty as officials wavered in 202110. For a second time, doubt was cast on the courthouse’s future.
Thankfully, the county council recently voted once more to allocate funds and renovate the historic structure for real. Construction is projected to span two years, and I’m sincerely hopeful that the idea sticks this time! Although it’s smaller than its peers, the Pulaski County Courthouse, holds enormous significance as a landmark in the northern part of the state. There’s no reason it shouldn’t proudly for another thirteen decades.
TL;DR
Pulaski County (pop. 12,534, 83/92)
Warsaw (pop. 2,332)
10/92 photographed
Built: 1895
Cost: $50,000. ($1.5 million in 2016)
Architect: A.W. Rush & E.A. Rush
Style: Richardson Romanesque
Courthouse Square: Shelbyville Square
Height: 106 feet
Current use: County offices
Photographed: 8/15/15
Sources Cited
1 Deacon, J. (2005). American Courthouses. Web. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
2 Enyart, David. “Pulaski County” Indiana County Courthouse Histories. ACPL Genealogy Center, 2010-2018. Web. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
3 Counts, Will; Jon Dilts (1991). The 92 Magnificent Indiana Courthouses. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. Print.
4 (See footnote 2).
5 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Winamac, Pulaski County, Indiana (1893). Sanborn Map Company, Mar. [Map] Retrieved June 23, 2024.
6 Pulaski County [Indiana Landmarks]. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
7 “Pulaski County Debates Demolition of Historic Courthouse” [Indiana Landmarks]. Web. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
8 Gallenberger, M. (2018, December 11). New Pulaski County Facilities Plan Proposes Demolishing Courthouse, Expanding Justice Center. WKVI [Knox]. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
9 Historic Pulaski courthouse to be saved” The Pharos Tribune [Logansport]. December 23, 2019. Web. Retrieved 1/11/20.
10 History Repeats (2021, May 20). Indiana Landmarks [Indianapolis]. Web. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
