Indiana County Courthouse Histories

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Randolph County
Named for: Thomas Randolph - Virginia Representative to Congress OR one of two soldiers killed at Tippecanoe
Organized: 1818
County Seat: Winchester
Number of Courthouses: 3

Number	Years	Type	Detail
1	1820-1828	Log	Builder: Abner Overman, 12/6/1818. 24x18. $254.50
2	1841-1870	Coffee Mill	Contracted by commissioners - started in 1828. 40x40
3	1877-Present	Castle	Arch: J.C. Johnson (3% of cost) 6/16/1875. (No fireproof vaults) $80,090. Builder: A.J. Campfield, 6/2/1875 (Dating error?) $73,000. Accepted 4/1/1877

The architect of the 1877 courthouse (J.C. Johnson) was self-taught but became the state architect of Ohio. Johnson designed two Indiana Courthouses, this and the one in Adams County. He was also the construction architect of the 1878 Hamilton County Courthouse also built by Campfield after Edwin May was fired. Both Adams and Randolph County's Courthouses experienced serious problems with their towers. Periodic maintenance was required on the ornate roof structures of this Courthouse that did not occur in a timely manner. The lack of attention was probably because the world had more important things on its mind in the first half of the twentieth century.

When originally constructed, the 1877 Courthouse had entrances on the sides; these were removed in the early 1900's to make room for more office space. When the highly ornate top was removed in 1954, the second floor was converted to a second and third floor and an elevator was added.

The County struggled in 2005 as to whether to refurbish or replace the structure. The preservationists are ahead at this time (2009).

There exists an account of a fire with loss of record in the 1877 Courthouse but this is unconfirmed.

The courthouse lawn contains Civil War Memorial erected in 1892, a Revolutionary War Memorial, a WW-I (Doughboy Statute) Memorial, a WW-II & Korean War Memorial and Tank, and ALL Veterans (Past - Present - Future) Memorial.