Indiana County Courthouse Histories
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Clinton County
Named for: DeWitt Clinton - Governor of New York
Organized: 1830
County Seat: Frankfort
Number of Courthouses: 3
| Number | Years | Type | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1831-1838 | Log | Builder: Alley & Michael? 18x24 1.5 stories; not on square $289.25 |
| 2 | 1838-1882 | Stylized | Design: Commissioners Builder John Elder $12,000 |
| 3 | 1884-Present | Castle | Arch: George Bunting, September, 1881, $200,000 Builder: Farman & Pearce, December, 1881, $179,450? 127x81 Cornerstone 9/2/1882; Cupola & dome replaced in 1992 & 2000 |
County meetings were first held in the town of Jefferson at the house of Mathew Bunnell and the public house of Charles I. Hand.
A petitioner from the town of Jefferson (Abner Baker?) was headed toward the State Capitol to enter a request to move a portion of Tippecanoe County into Clinton County to better position Jefferson to be the Clinton County seat. The petitioner never arrived at Indianapolis and it has long been conjectured that he was waylaid by the original owner of the Frankfort location, John Pence.
John Elder built the 1838 Courthouse but it is not clear that he designed it. Elder later designed and built Courthouses in Bartholomew, Fayette, and Rush Counties, and he designed but did not build the 1849 courthouse in Johnson County. This was probably the first courthouses in Indiana with any real architectural styling.
George Bunting who designed the 1884 Courthouse designed eight Indiana Courthouses; present Courthouse in Clinton, Greene, Johnson, Montgomery, Union, and Wells Counties, and past Courthouses in Daviess and Madison Counties.
The Clinton and Madison County Courthouses were of the same design (New Greek with Italian treatment) except Clinton cost more due to Oolitic limestone instead of brick facing as well as other amenities. The Johnson County Courthouse is also probably of the same design but with different stylizations.
The 1884 Courthouse was built with external stairs on all sides to the second floor with a first floor entrance under each one. All four stairs have been removed so all entrances are on the first floor, which was originally the basement.
Courthouse square memorials include a Clinton County Veterans Memorial, A Revolutionary War Memorial, a Civil War Memorial, and a Navy Club "Memory of Our Departed Shipmates".