Modern photo by Chris Young
Seated in the heart of Winamac and currently undergoing major renovation, the Pulaski County Courthouse is one of the most historic public buildings in Northern Indiana, with a legacy that stretches back to the 1830s. It is also critically important to the county’s day-to-day operations, judicially and beyond.
The building’s story begins in 1839, when the very first Pulaski County Courthouse was built. Made of logs, it served as the first circuit court and a school for the newly formed county. About 20 years later, a more formal two-story brick building was erected in Winamac alongside a separate county jailhouse. 32 years later, the Pulaski County Commissioners sought a new, more secure seat of government – one that could protect county records.
“I don’t know if it was officially a depression, but materials and labor were cheap, so a lot of people felt it was time to upgrade,” said Nathan Origer, executive director of the Pulaski County Community Development Commission. “The old building did the job okay, but it was lacking things like proper waterproofing and fireproofing to protect the county’s documents and property records. There was a lot of battling and debating, but they finally agreed to demolish the old building and put a new one up on the same site.”
The bidding process for rights to design the new courthouse was highly competitive, and architects flocked in to submit their design proposals.
“Twenty different architects showed up,” Origer said. “It actually became a bit of an ordeal, and the commissioners basically told 14 of them that they were wasting their time. They focused on six different plans.”
At first, the commissioners chose a design put forward by a firm from Milwaukee, Rau and Kirsch. Other firms lobbied that the Wisconsinites were only chosen due to “undue and unfair influence” on the board, thanks to various gifts.
Ultimately, A.W. Rush and Sons, a Chicago-based firm, won the contest and the new, current, courthouse was built between 1895 and 1896. It is of Romanesque style and built from a mix of Ohio Sandstone and Indiana Limestone. Coincidentally, A.W. Rush also designed the historic courthouse in neighboring Fulton County.
The building lasted mostly unchanged for over a century. It was even added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. Yet over the last few decades, it became increasingly apparent that something needed to be changed. The county and its needs were outgrowing the building, and many governmental functions were shifted into other buildings around Winamac as annexes.
“We had accessibility issues, general maintenance issues, and modernization updates to electricity and plumbing that all needed to be done,” Origer said. “All of that was happening on top of a public safety issue. Inmates from the Justice Center across the street had to be brought in through the front door of the courthouse, and there was just no way to make the inside of the courthouse secure.”
Then, in 2016, the County Commissioners decided to make a change. They looked very closely at a proposal that would modernize and expand the courthouse’s facilities, including improved security measures – but one major problem led to public pushback.
“The proposal still required taking inmates outside,” Origer said. “Ultimately, the County Council declined to fund it, and things were shelved for the time being.”
In 2018, another proposal was brought forward, one that would instead dramatically expand the Justice Center – effectively rendering the courthouse purposeless, and putting it at risk for demolition. The public, again, rejected the idea.
At this point, Indiana Landmarks stepped in with a new idea. If the county would agree to strongly consider preserving the courthouse, it would pay Rowland Design, the architects, to analyze the existing proposals and formulate a new design that would potentially satisfy everyone. The county agreed, and Rowland Design got to work.
“They caught a few things that they missed the first time around and brought out a new proposal,” Origer said. “The new project would commit to some minor updates and additions to the justice center while renovating the courthouse.”
The public bought in, and Pulaski County spent 2020 ensuring that the plan could be implemented without a hitch. The justice center updates were completed first, while the county continued finalizing plans for the courthouse renovations into 2023.
“This spring, we finally had all of the bond issuance and funding lined up, and Tonn and Blank started work in late May,” Origer said. “It’s been an eight-year saga to get to this point.”
The renovations, while extensive, will leave the courthouse’s iconic exterior largely intact with a handful of differences. The east and west main level entrances are set to be removed, making room for extended hallway space on the inside.
The north end is also being renovated, removing the current aluminum front that covers the original wooden doors and replacing it with weatherized doors and an alcove that will allow people to see the original wooden storefront.
“We’re not doing any additions to the building itself, and we’re not removing or covering the sandstone,” Origer said. “There’ll be some noticeable differences, but it’ll still be the courthouse people know.”
Most of the changes are on the interior, making it more secure and modern while opening up additional office space to bring more Pulaski County government functions back into the building. The county surveyor, auditor, clerk treasurer, assessor, building & development, economic development, veteran services, and county meetings are all set to move back into the courthouse once construction is finished.
“We’re excited to bring this eight-year-old saga to a close,” Origer said. “The county is going to have a great, newly renovated facility, especially as a lot of other great things are happening around Winamac. We’ll have a shining courthouse in the middle of downtown that is having so much invested in it.”
To learn more about Pulaski County, visit pulaskionline.org.
