Thomas Hendricks double log cabin home, located on current Taylor Avenue, served as the first Decatur County Courthouse. The first Decatur County Commissioner meeting took place in that home on May 14, 1822. The county used this building as a courthouse until 1827. On January 15, 1825, the Board of Commissioners met and drew up the requirements for a new courthouse. On March 7, the county advertised for bids to construct the new courthouse in the center of the town square in Greensburg. County officers occupied the new courthouse on May 1, 1827.
Condemned
This building served as the courthouse until it was condemned in 1854. Razing of the structure occurred later that summer.
Designed by architech Edwin May, construction on the Decatur County Courthouse began in 1854 and was completed in 1860. Many consider the Romanesque-Revival building one of the finest examples of that type of architecture in the United States. President-Elect Abraham Lincoln made a brief stop in Greensburg on February 12, 1861 as he traveled by train to his inauguration on March 4, 1861. A major renovation of the courthouse took place in 1890. A stucco covering was applied over the brick in 1903. This covering was removed in 1972.
Edwin May (July 23, 1823 - February 27, 1880)
Native of Boston, Massachusetts, May moved to Indiana and worked as an architect. His work includes several courthouses and public buildings in Indiana. May received the commission to design the new Indiana State House in 1878. During this, his final project he became incapacitated and died after traveling to Florida to recuperate.
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| Indiana Courthouses - Southeast Edition |
The Tower Tree
The tree first appeared in 1870. Shortly after its appearance, four more trees appeared. The city leaders feared that the trees would damage the roof and hired a steeplejack in 1888 to remove all but two. One of these died, but the other grew to a height of about fifteen feet. This one died, but another grew in its place. Thus, there has been a continuous line of trees growing on the roof of the courthouse since 1870. Early on, the tree was identified as aspen; however, an examination by Purdue foresters has determined the present one is a mulberry.
Decatur County Court House
150 Courthouse Square
Greensburg, IN 47240
(812) 663-2570
http://www.decaturcounty.in.gov
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