Brentwood S. Tolan (November 23, 1855 – June 30, 1923) was an American

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. His most notable works include the

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

-designated Allen County Courthouse in downtown

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

, the Whitley County Courthouse in

Columbia City, Indiana Columbia City is a city in Columbia Township, Whitley County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 9,892 (2020 Census), growing by 13% since the 2010 Census. The city is the county seat of Whitley County. History The Whitley Count ...

, the

La Porte County Courthouse The LaPorte County Courthouse is a historic county courthouse in La Porte, Indiana, the county seat of LaPorte County. It was designed by Brentwood S. Tolan and built from 1892-1894. It is Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in style and was ...

in La Porte, Indiana, as well as the now-demolished Old National Bank Building and Masonic Temple and Opera House in Fort Wayne. Tolan was born in

Delphos, Ohio Delphos is a city in Allen and Van Wert counties in the U.S. state of Ohio approximately 14 mi (23 km) northwest of Lima and 13 mi (21 km) east of Van Wert. The population was 7,101 at the 2010 census. The Allen County po ...

to Thomas J. and Harriet Skinner Tolan. With little formal art training, he apprenticed under his father, a marble craftsman-turned architect, starting in 1872 at age 17. In 1874 his father moved the family and architectural practice to

. After his father's death in 1883, Tolan continued the family architectural practice in Fort Wayne. He became well known during the

Progressive Era The Progressive Era (late 1890s – late 1910s) was a period of widespread social activism and political reform across the United States focused on defeating corruption, monopoly, waste and inefficiency. The main themes ended during Am ...

in the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...

area of the Midwest for designing municipal and local government buildings, including courthouses and jails. He later moved to Lima, Ohio, where he practiced with the firm DeCurtin, Rawson, and Tolan. He is buried in Delphos.

National Register of Historic Places

T.J. Tolan & Son, Architects * Davis County Courthouse, Bloomfield, Iowa (added May 3, 1974) * Van Wert County Courthouse,

Van Wert, Ohio Van Wert is a city in and the county seat of Van Wert County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northwestern Ohio approximately 77 mi (123 km) SW of Toledo and 34 mi (54 km) SE of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The po ...

(added July 30, 1974) *Holmes County Sheriff’s Residence and Jail,

Millersburg, Ohio Millersburg is a village and the county seat of Holmes County, Ohio, United States located south of Cleveland. The population was 3,025 at the 2010 census. Holmes County Airport, located two miles southwest of Millersburg, serves the county. ...

(added July 25, 1974) *Morrow County Sheriff’s Residence and Jail,

Mount Gilead, Ohio Mount Gilead is a village and the county seat of Morrow County, Ohio, United States. It is located 41 miles (66 km) northeast of Columbus. The population was 3,660 at the 2010 census. It is the center of population of Ohio. The village was esta ...

(added July 25, 1974) * La Grange County Courthouse,

Lagrange, Indiana LaGrange is a town in and the county seat of LaGrange County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,625 at the 2010 census. History LaGrange was laid out and platted in 1836. It took its name from LaGrange County. LaGrange County's init ...

(added July 17, 1980) *First United Methodist Church, Van Wert, Ohio (added 1982) *Noble County Sheriff’s Residence and Jail,

Albion, Indiana Albion is a town in Albion and Jefferson townships, Noble County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 2,349 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Noble County. History Albion was laid out in 1846. The town was named ...

(added December 27, 1982) * Kosciusko County Courthouse,

Warsaw, Indiana Warsaw is a city in and the county seat of Kosciusko County, Indiana, United States. Warsaw has a population of 13,559 as of the 2010 U.S. Census. Warsaw also borders a smaller town, Winona Lake. Etymology Warsaw, named after the capital of ...

(added March 1, 1982) * Parke County Courthouse,

Rockville, Indiana Rockville is a town in Adams Township, Parke County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 2,607 at the 2010 census. The town is the county seat of Parke County. It is known as "The Covered Bridge Capital of the World". History Rockv ...

(added May 27, 1993) *McCulloch-Weatherhogg Double House,

(added 2001) * Henry County Courthouse,

Cambridge, Illinois Cambridge is a village in Henry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,160 at the 2010 census, down from 2,180 in 2000. It is the county seat of Henry County. History Before 1843, the land where Cambridge is currently located was ...

(added August 20, 2004) Brentwood S. Tolan, Architect * Allen County Courthouse,

(added May 28, 1976) * LaPorte County Courthouse,

LaPorte, Indiana La Porte (French for "The Door") is a city in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States, of which it is the county seat. Its population was estimated to be 21,341 in 2022. It is one of the two principal cities of the Michigan City-La Porte, India ...

* Whitley County Courthouse,

Decurtin, Rawson, and Tolan * Argonne Hotel, Lima, Ohio (added October 7, 1982)

National Historic Landmark

Brentwood S. Tolan, Architect * Allen County Courthouse,

(added July 31, 2003)

Images

Image:Fort-wayne-indiana-courthouse.jpg, Allen County Courthouse, Fort Wayne, Indiana File:Kosciusko County Courthouse from southeast near sunset.jpg, Kosciusko County Courthouse, Warsaw, Indiana Image:Lagrange-indiana-courthouse.jpg, LaGrange County Courthouse, LaGrange, Indiana Image:Laporte County Indiana courthouse 2.jpg, La Porte County Courthouse, La Porte, Indiana Image:Rockville, IN.jpg, Parke County Courthouse, Rockville, Indiana Image:Columbia-city-indiana-courthouse.jpg, Whitley County Courthouse, Columbia City, Indiana Image:Bloomfield Iowa.JPG, Davis County Courthouse, Bloomfield, Iowa, Image:Argonne Hotel.JPG, Argonne Hotel, Lima, Ohio Image:Mount-gilead-ohio-jail.jpg, Morrow County Jail and Sheriff's Residence, Mount Gilead, Ohio Image:Van-wert-ohio-courthouse2.jpg, Van Wert County Courthouse, Van Wert, Ohio

External links

Whitley County Courthouse photo
* ttp://www.daviscountycourthouse.com Davis County Courthouse Preservation {{DEFAULTSORT:Tolan, Brentwood S. 1855 births 1923 deaths Architects from Ohio Architects from Fort Wayne, Indiana People from Delphos, Ohio People from Lima, Ohio