Vigo County Historical Society
Historical Treasure Article
Historic Treasure of the Week -
June 23, 2002
By Shawn M. Rogers
Vigo County Historical Society
Current courthouse is third version for Vigo County
The current structure at the northwest corner of Ohio and Third streets is neither the first nor second building to serve as the Vigo County Courthouse--it is the third.
Less than a month following the establishment of Vigo County, an advertisement in the “Western Sun” of Vincennes dated Fort Harrison, March 31, 1818, stated that proposals for the construction of both a courthouse and jail would be accepted. Brocklebank and Hovey won the contract to build the new courthouse and began construction shortly before the year ended.
The newly constructed courthouse, completed in 1823, was a small (55-feet-square) two-story brick building with a tiny cupola perched upon its roof. The first story consisted of one large courtroom, while the second story housed four rooms for office and storage use.
For more than 40 years, the cozy little brick building played host to the legal and political prowess of such notable figures as: Richard Thompson, Daniel Voorhees, Demas Deming, William McLean, Charles Cruft and James Whitcomb. The old courthouse also was the site of the first notable murder trial in Vigo County, which resulted in the execution of Samuel Dias at the makeshift gallows atop Strawberry Hill.
In addition to service as the major seat of legal and political activity in Vigo County, the first courthouse was a popular location for numerous public meetings, including those of a religious variety. A number of present-day congregations such as St. Stephens Episcopal Church conducted meetings and services within the courthouse before they acquired their own property.
By 1839, concern over a rash of courthouse fires throughout the state and the poor condition of the rapidly decaying and inadequately constructed courthouse led to serious discussions regarding its replacement. In 1866 the remaining county offices were transferred from the old dilapidated courthouse to the newly constructed flatstone building on the northeast corner of Third and Ohio streets. This building served as the “temporary” courthouse of Vigo County for 22 years until the present courthouse was completed. The original courthouse was sold to Jacob Stark and razed shortly thereafter in 1868.
The late Juliet Peddle, the most illustrious architect of the Wabash Valley, created this interesting sketch of Vigo County’s first courthouse. Peddle also made sketches of several civil War Wabash Valley building that can be seen, along with a number of other historical treasures in the Vigo County Historical Museum.
The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The Web site: http://web.indstate.edu/community/vchs.