Madison, Indiana, was established in 1809 on a plateau at the Ohio River. The town was a busy port that accommodated heavy river traffic, and it even gained fame as a major stop on the underground railroad1. Madison thrives even today, and a classic courthouse anchors the hustle and bustle.
Continue reading “The Jefferson County, Indiana Courthouse (1855-)”
The Defiance County Courthouse was built in 1873. It spent eighty-five years as one of Ohio’s finest Second Empire structures before an unfortunate renovation turned it into the most hysterically ugly building I’ve ever seen. In 2016, it was renovated in a process that borrowed elements from both iterations to give the building a new lease on life.
Continue reading “The Defiance County, Ohio Courthouse (1873-)”
The Montgomery County Courthouse was built in 1876. Sixty-five years later, an artist commissioned to paint the building noticed that the tower appeared to be leaning. It was wartime, and officials acted in haste by decapitating the courthouse, melting its bell down, and dumping the clockworks by the county highway barn. A local jeweler rescued the clock and put it up at his store downtown1, but the rest was history.
Continue reading “The restored Montgomery County, Indiana Courthouse (1876-)”