A place rooted in history

Jefferson County Courthouse
 

Source: The Early Architecture of Madison, Indiana
By John T. Windle and Robert M. Taylor Jr.
Published in 1986 by Historic Madison Inc. and the Indiana Historical Society.

The Jefferson County Courthouse, designed by architect David Dubach in the Classic Revival Style and built in 1854-55, replaced an earlier building which burned in 1853. The cost was $36,000.

The lower floor exterior is rusticated, and the west facade is pierced by three large round arches. Above these arches stands an Ionic tetrastyle portico. Windows are long, and those on the street sides are capped with slightly projecting stone lintels supported by corbels. The building is surmounted by a very large dome and cupola. In the dome is a bell weighing 3,116 pounds and a town clock installed by Israel Fowler, a Madison clockmaker. The stone came from Marble Hill, a few miles south of Madison. At that time it was believed that this stone was a fine grade of marble, but it was quickly discovered that Marble Hill stone eroded easily unless kept painted. During an extensive remodeling in 1960 the two-story courtroom was sacrificed to provide an additional floor, but the exterior architecture was not altered.

Pediments appear on all four sides of the building. Dubach seems to have altered these pediments during construction. He doubled the elevation of the pediments and possibly made the columns a bit slimmer than his original drawing indicates.

The Madison courthouse shows many similarities in design with the courthouse plan shown in Lafever's Young Builder's General Instructor. These similarities indicate that Dubach had a copy of the Lafever book in his possession at the time the Madison structure was built. The dome, entablature, and cornices are similar. The pediment in Lafever is flatter and more Greek, thus more like the Dubach drawing, and Dubach's pediment as built is steeper and more Roman.

According to a newspaper report of 1859, after a fire in 1858 John Temperly was in charge of replacing the courthouse cupola.
 

History of Madison, Indiana

Founded in 1809, Madison is the seat of Jefferson County, Ind. With a population of 13,000, it is the largest city within a 35-mile radius and a regional hub for commerce, industry, health care and tourism. The historic district of the city is located on a crescent-shaped terrace along the Ohio River. From its beginning, the river has been an important transportation artery. Today it is a focus of recreational activity as well as a route for barge traffic.

When John Paul, Lewis Davis and Jonathan Lyons purchased the land which would become Madison, in 1809, the river front was covered with trees. But the spectacular 400-foot bluffs which surrounded the site gave a picturesque backdrop which remains today. The first lots went on sale in 1811. The site was advertised in Cincinnati’s Liberty Hall, as ”one of the most healthy and elegant situations on the banks of said (Ohio) river, and near the center of the most fertile country.” By 1824, the town had been incorporated.

Throughout the first half of the 19th century it continued to fulfill its incorporators’ dreams. In 1830 it was the seat of one of Indiana’s wealthiest counties and had more population than any other city in the state. Madison’s Farmers and Mechanics’ Bank, incorporated in 1814, was the state’s first successful bank. In 1834, it was replaced by the semi-private Madison branch of the State Bank of Indiana. When the rest of the nation was reeling from the Panic of 1837, Madison’s strong branch bank survived on its reserves.

Indiana’s first railroad was built from Madison, to Indianapolis beginning in 1837 and completed in 1848. The Michigan Road, the first state-funded highway to connect the Ohio River with Lake Michigan, began in Madison. For a while the city was second only to Cincinnati as a western packer and shipper of hogs.

After 1854, the town slowly began to decline in influence, but merchants and industries still prospered as many Italianate and other buildings from the 1870s and 1880s attest. As the century waned, the town became a quiet refuge for many unique businesses. The prosperous years left a grand legacy of historic homes and business buildings which continue to enrich the community. Through the first decades of the 20th century, the town enjoyed a quieter existence. Then, after World War II, it shared in the nationwide suburban boom. This construction, along with modern highways and businesses centered on the hilltop north of the historic town, created a bi-level community.

Beginning in 1960, with the founding of Historic Madison, Inc., the town became a focus for historic preservation. It has a large National Register Historic District and was designated one of the country’s largest National Historic Landmark Districts in 2006. Two other individual properties are also individual National Historic Landmarks. Today, the vibrant historic downtown provides many tourist attractions near the river, while the hilltop offers residents the convenience of large stores and new developments.

Madison’s Main Street was named a Great American Public Place by Urban Initiatives in 1995. Among many other honors, Madison was recognized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of twelve Distinctive Destinations in the U.S. in 2001. Its Georgetown neighborhood became America’s first Network to Freedom District in 2004. 

More info:
Jefferson County Historical Society
Historic Madison Inc.

The Jefferson County Historical Society, 615 W. First St., has an interesting exhibit of photos and artifacts from the 1959 Sesquicentennial and the 1909 Centennial celebrations for visitors to the JCHS Research Library. It is now on display in the Research Library entrance lobby.