Tipton County IN Archives History - Books .....Court Houses And Jails 1883
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Book Title: Counties Of Howard And Tipton, Indiana

COURT HOUSES AND JAILS.

   Early in 1845, Jesse Brown was ordered to advertise for sealed proposals for
the erection of a frame court house, 20x24 feet, two stories high, to be covered
with poplar shingles, to be erected on Lot 3, Block 10, Canton, and to be ready
by the 1st of June, 1845. In February, the contract was awarded to George
Tucker, who was paid the first installment March 5, 1845. The building was up by
June, according to contract, and the contract of completing, partitioning and
furnishing the house was let to Jacob W. Whisler and Christian Eshelman, for
$238, the work to be completed by November, 1845. This was accomplished
according to contract, the contractors receiving their pay, $235.50, in March,
1846. Under orders, N. J. Jackson purchased two stoves, for $37.77, in December,
1845, for the court house, using the "town lot fund" for that purpose. The cost
of this building was about $1,200. It had a hall running through from east to
west, and on each side of the lower story were two rooms for the county
officers. The upper story was the court room. In September, 1845, the County
Agent, W. H. Nelson, was ordered to have built a log jail, 14x20 feet, eight
feet high, with walls of hewed-oak timber, one foot square, the rooms to be
lined with heavy oak plank, spiked firmly in their places. Charles A. Thurman
took the contract at $115, and completed the same in December, 1845. It is
stated that no criminal broke out of this old jail, after he was once locked in.
It answered all purposes until the present jail was constructed, and possessed a
merit, it is stated, that the present building does not—criminals could not
escape. Daniel Smith was the first jailer. In June, 1846, Solomon Smith, who had
donated to the county 2,000 feet of good lumber for the public buildings, was
directed to deliver the same at the court house. In September, 1846, James
Cassler contracted to clear the court house square for $13.12. At the same time,
George Tucker, under orders, secured twelve chairs for the court house. In the
autumn, quite an extensive addition was built to the court house, at a cost of
several hundred dollars. This was rendered necessary by the crowded condition of
things. In 1855, the public square was fenced anew. In December, 1855, Samuel
Deal and Harvey Goodykoontz were appointed to see to the erection of much-needed
county offices on the public square, the building to be frame, 14x28 feet, nine
feet high, with a partition in the center, the rooms to be ceiled and plastered.
The building was completed in June, 1857, at a cost of $329.09. About this time,
the county courts began to meet in the Methodist Church, which had been erected
about three years before, as  the court house had been destroyed by fire.

   In June, 1858, Nelson Daubenspeck, of Hamilton County, contracted to build a
new court house for Tipton County, within two years, for $10,000, of which
$1,000 was to be paid the 1st of November, 1858, $3,000 the 1st of January,
1859, $3,000 the 1st of January, 1860, and $3,000 when the building was
completed and accepted. The foundation of the building was to be three and a
half feet high, two feet thick at the bottom and twenty inches thick at the top.
The outer wall was to be of hammer-dressed limestone, and the inner walls either
of brick or limestone, eighteen inches thick. The walls of the building proper
were to be of brick, the outside wall to be eighteen inches thick, except the
gables, which were to be thirteen inches thick, and the inside walls were to be
thirteen inches thick. The first story was to be ten feet high, and the second
story seventeen feet high. A hall was to extend north and south through the
lower story, on the sides of which were to be the county offices. The upper
story was to be the court room. The bond of the contractor was fixed at $20,000,
with the following sureties: D. S. Hurlock, S. D. Cottingham, J. W. Ross, J. W.
Cottingham and W. Daubenspeck. In September, 1858, in order to meet the expense
of constructing this building, the Board ordered issued and sold eight county
bonds of $500 each, payable at the banking house of Winslow, Lanier & Co., New
York: $2,000 to be paid in two years, and $2,000 in four years. The first $2,000
of these bonds sold at a discount of $84.15. The election of the house was
rapidly pushed, and in December, 1859, Mr. Daubenspeck announced that it was
finished. He was soon paid the remainder due him under the contract, besides
$500 additional for extra work, and enough more to run the cost up to nearly
$15,000. This building is yet in use. In 1862, John W. Axtell re-covered the
court house with tin roofing, at $9 per square. At the same time, a fire and
burglar proof safe for the Treasurer's office was purchased of W. B. Dodd & Co.;
for $550. In December, 1862, John Cox repaired the court house roof to the
extent of $60.

   In April, 1866, advertisements were ordered for the erection of a combined
jail and jailer's residence. In May, bids were received from J. H. McConnell,
Alpheus Lay and J. H. Coffman, but neither was accepted then. N. R. Overman was
appointed agent, to take the plans and specifications to Indianapolis, to have
them corrected by a competent architect. The plans had been submitted by B. F.
Hough & Co. The contract was finally awarded to J. H. Coffman, for $6,000, the
building to be completed by the 1st of November, 1866. The old jail was soon
sold to John Cassiform for $13. G. W. Boyer was appointed Superintendent to
oversee the work on the jail. It was again found necessary to issue several
thousand dollars' worth of county bonds, to meet expenses, and N. R. Overman was
appointed agent to negotiate their sale. The building, a fine brick structure,
was completed in June, 1867, the time allowed the contractor having been
extended. This is the present jail. In the autumn of 1866, the right to use
Selder's Improved System of Keeping Accounts was bought for $350.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

COUNTIES OF HOWARD AND TIPTON, INDIANA.

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL.
ILLUSTRATED.

CHARLES BLANCHARD. EDITOR.
CHICAGO: F. A. BATTEY & CO.
1883.


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