Indiana County Courthouse Histories

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Hamilton County
Named for: Alexander Hamilton
Organized: 1823
County Seat: Noblesville
Number of Courthouses: 3

Number	Years	Type	Detail
1	1831-1836	Frame	Builder: Francis B. Cogswell 30x18 1 1/2 -story $176.75. Originally to be built on - lot 1 block 11 - but instead was built on the square
2	1838-1877	Coffee Mill	Plans: John Stirewalt 45x45 Ordered Sept, 1835, bid $3985 ~$4800
3	1879-Present	Castle	Arch: Edwin May, 4/21/1877, ~ $150,000; Builder: Aaron G. Campfield, 9/29/1877, bid $99,950, paid $106,842.59. Cornerstone 4/20/1878 Accepted 7/23/1879

There were one or two commissioner's proposals to build a courthouse as early as 1826 but said plans appear not to have been executed. There is however, much confusion over this issue.

Edwin May was the designer of the 1879 Courthouse, but was fired 1/17/1778 as the construction architect and was replaced by architect John C. Johnson and superintendent Dr. Joshua J. Cottingham. The builder (A. G. Campfield) had worked with Johnson on the 1877 Randolph County Courthouse. Campfield's bid was less than May's estimated of $116,000 and May thought that Campfield was building the foundation in an unacceptable manner to reduce the cost. J.C. Johnson changed many of May's design elements. The feud between May and Campfield may have been partially fueled by Campfield's association with E.E. Myers who had just lost the bid for the Indiana State Capitol Building to May and had subsequently sued.

The 1879 Courthouse is a unique and beautiful building, but it no longer houses any active courtrooms. The circuit courtroom has been refurbished, but it is used only for meetings and as a showplace. Before refurbishment the exterior had lost much of its beauty because many architectural elements had been removed or were badly degraded.