Starke County Courthouse
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Starke County Courthouse
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Front of the Starke County Courthouse, located on Courthouse Square in downtown Knox, Indiana, United States.
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| Location | Courthouse Sq., Knox, Indiana |
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| Coordinates | 41°17′56″N 86°37′21″W / 41.29889°N 86.62250°WCoordinates: 41°17′56″N 86°37′21″W / 41.29889°N 86.62250°W |
| Area | 1.6 acres (0.65 ha) |
| Built | 1897 |
| Built by | Caldwell & Drake |
| Architect | Wing & Mahurin |
| Architectural style | Romanesque, Richardsonian Romanesque |
| NRHP Reference # | 86003170 |
| Added to NRHP | November 12, 1986 |
The Starke County Courthouse is a historic courthouse located at Knox, Starke County, Indiana. It was designed by designed by the architectural firm of Wing & Mahurin, of Fort Wayne and built in 1897. It is a three-story, Richardsonian Romanesque style Indiana Oolitic limestone and terra cotta building. It has a Greek cross-plan and is topped by a tiled hipped roof. It features a 138 feet tall clock tower located at the roof's center.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
Starke County was organized on April 1, 1850. County business was conducted in the log home of Jacob Tillman, the county treasurer. In 1851 a new courthouse was built for $475. The frame structure was on the southeast corner of Mound and Pearl Streets. A second courthouse was completed in 1863. It had colonial columns and a bell tower. It was the first located on the public square. The final cost was $20,000. Construction of the present courthouse started in 1897. The courthouse is in the Richardsonian Romanesque style.
The building was constructed in 1897 by contractors George W. Caldwell and Lester Drake, of Columbus, Indiana. Caldwell and Drake are best known for the West Baden Springs Hotel, which, at that time, had the largest dome in the world, and for the Palace of Agriculture at the St. Louis World's Fair, which was the largest building ever constructed under one roof at the time of its execution. The building is a fine example of the Richardsonian Romanesque style. The Starke County Courthouse is significant for its Richardsonian Romanesque architecture, designed by the firm of John F. Wing and Marshall S. Mahurin, of Fort Wayne, and for its role as the seat of county government for the past 89 years.
The building is the third county courthouse and is significant for its being the seat of county government for nearly 90 years. A wooden structure was utilized when Knox became the county seat in 1850, being replaced with a larger, brick building in 1858. The present structure was finished in 1898 at a cost of $130,000, and is the oldest civic building in the county.
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