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New Addition To The Present Court House

-1906-

Hazzard's History of Henry County, IN Vol. #II

   In the Fall of the year 1903, the board of county commissioners, recognizing the inadequate accommodations of the courthouse, decided to improve the building by an addition to the west end. The contract was let, December 29, 1903, to Patrick H. McCormack and Company, for the erection of the new part. This section of the building is sixty-eight feet, eight inches long, thus lacking but thirteen feet of being equal in length to the original structure, and of the same width. The new part joins flush with the old and from appearance, inside and out, it is hard to imagine that the two sections were not erected at the same time. In style of architecture, the new wing is a duplicate of the original. The completed structure occupying the center of the square and surrounded by artistically kept grounds, is massive and imposing.
   The work on the new part was begun in the Spring of 1904. The board of commissioners accepted the completed building in April 1905. In comparing the two sections so nearly equal in size, one is impressed with two differences. The first section, a recognized necessity in 1864, was completed in 1869. The other was finished less than eighteen months after the matter was taken up by the commissioners. The new wing cost $44,000; the old section $120,000 at Civil War prices.
   The two parts have been made symmetrical in interior decorations, the cost for re-decorating the entire structure, being $2,895. About $4,000 worth of new and modern furniture has been purchased locally giving the offices all the conveniences of the present time and adding the finishing touches to the otherwise handsome quarters.
   The new addition with its three floors and basement contains large and commodious public waiting rooms and toilets on the basement floor. The offices of the county assessor, auditor, treasurer and county surveyor, are on the first floor. The Grand Army room, the law library, judge's library and private office, two jury rooms, a grand jury apartment and consultation room for attorneys, occupy the second floor. Large storage rooms for old documents are on the third floor, which is a subdivision of the second story. It also provides an additional room for the county clerk and permits the establishment of a commissioner's courtroom in the former recorder's office, the recorder occupying the former auditor's office in the old part. The county superintendent has his office in the old office of the county treasurer in the original building. The sheriff's office still retains its former location in the old building.
   Hot water heats the entire structure. Every modern convenience has been installed. Marble wainscoting circles the halls. The walls are calcined and frescoed. The grounds are beautiful. The exterior 150 by 67 feet, is complete and massive, the interior being handsome and convenient.

UEB 2004
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