‘Bartholomew’ is a county located in southeast part of the state of ‘Indiana’,USA. ‘Bartholomew County Courthouse’ is parked in the county seat ‘Columbus’, at 234 Washington Street. It was named in the honor of Sir Joseph Bartholomew, a commander and General of the ‘Indiana Militia’, who fought bravely in the battle of Tippecanoe and got severely wounded.
From the time of the creation of this county, four buildings have served as courthouses. The first Courthouse was a small log cabin owned by ‘Luke Bonesteel’, situated near Lindsey Street. The second Courthouse was completed in 1831, which was constructed out of brick. The third Courthouse was built in 1839 at ‘Public Square’ and it was designed by a reputed architect of that time; ‘John Elder’. The famous ‘Courthouse Fire’ destroyed many documents and records and the fourth Courthouse of the county was planned in 1871.
‘Isaac Hogdson’, a famous architect of Indiana, who had designed other 5 Indiana Courthouses, was the designer of the present Courthouse as well. The local firms ‘Sweeney’ and ‘McCormack’ were given the contract and the courthouse was completely constructed by 1874 at the total expenditure of $225,000.
This building is one of the spectacular examples of the architecture of Columbus city. Built in French ‘Second Empire Style’, this Courthouse was largely constructed in red brick with white colored limestone trim. The foundation of the Courthouse was built in blue limestone. The ‘L’ shape of the building allows it to face two important streets of Columbus. The original roof was made of slate but later in 1953, it was replaced with a standing-seam copper roof. Bartholomew County Courthouse underwent a makeover in 1968 which changed the entire look of the building and by 1998 even the interior design and furniture was renovated. In 1979, Bartholomew County Courthouse got listed in ‘National Register of Historic Places’. The clock tower of the Courthouse makes a photographic site. There is an inscription at the courthouse which reads the name of the designer, the history of Columbus city and how this Courthouse was built.
For past hundred years this building is preserving the dignity of justice. Recently a project is passed to get the window glasses tinted.
