Indiana County Courthouse Histories

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Jasper County
Named for: Sergeant William Jasper - Revolutionary War Scout for Marion
Organized: 1835
County Seat: Newton (Rensselaer), 1839
Number of Courthouses: 4

Number	Years	Type	Detail
1	1839-1845		No Information
2	1845-1856	Frame	Builder: Oliver Hammond Paid for by Mr. Van Rensselaer 31x36 2-story
3	1856-1896	Stylized	Builder: Benjamin Hinkle Contr: May 1854 Completed Sept. 1856 70x40 $10,000. Fire 1/18/1865 - Major record loss - probably arson. Repaired 1865 by J.A. Silver
4	1898-Present	Castle	Arch: Alfred Grindle & Charles Weatherhogg, $156,000. Builder: J.W. & J.F. Heinzmann, bid $89,180. Cornerstone 11/12/1896

Because of the fire in 1864 some county records are incomplete. Among the missing is good information on the 1839 courthouse. It is probable that this was not a county structure, but merely a temporary and perhaps minimally used location. The fact that the 1845 courthouse was free to the county makes it difficult to believe that the county had paid for a previous structure.

Parish Grove then Spitler's Cabin were both temporary County Seats. The Log Cabin home of county official Spitler was south of Brook (Newton County) and served as a Courthouse 1838-1839. Spitler had refused to serve unless meetings and courts were held at his location.

When Jasper County was first organized it was located where Benton County now sits. What is now Jasper and Newton Counties was defined but unorganized Newton County. Newton County was later split into what is now Newton County and the eastern part, which is now Jasper County, was attached to the already existing Jasper County. When the larger Jasper County was then split into two organized Counties the new part of Jasper County retained the name and the original Jasper County became Benton County.

The town of Newton was renamed Rensselaer approximately 1860.

The courthouse lawn includes a Jasper County Veterans Memorial.