The Warsaw Courthouse Square Historic District is a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

in Warsaw, Indiana that was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1982. Its boundaries were increased in 1993.

History

Warsaw was named after the capital of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, the homeland of the county's namesake,

Thaddeus Kosciusko Thaddeus (Latin ''Thaddaeus'', Ancient Greek Θαδδαῖος ''Thaddaĩos'', from Aramaic תדי ''Ṯaday'') is a male given name. As of the 1990 Census, ''Thaddeus'' was the 611th most popular male name in the United States, while ''Thad'', ...

. Beginning in 1834, settlers arrived, a blacksmith shop and several dwellings were built. A year after being platted it was chosen as the county seat. In 1854

Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway The Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway was a major part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system, extending the PRR west from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, via Fort Wayne, Indiana, to Chicago, Illinois. It included the current Norfolk Southern-own ...

came to town and growth began.Kosciusko County Interim Report, Indiana Historic Sites and Structures Inventory; Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana; 1991; pg 55-58 The

Kosciusko County Jail The first Kosciusko County Jail was built in 1837 of square logs. It was two stories tall with a trap door from the second story floor to access the ground floor. The next jail was made of brick. Like the first jail, it was located on Courthouse ...

was designed by George O. Garnsey and built by Richard Epperson in 1870, the Gothic Revival fortress-like jail is an intimidating sight. The Opera House was constructed in 1874 after a fire destroyed an earlier hall. This three-story brick building contained seating for 1,500 people. The former Odd Fellows Building dates from 1872. With more rail lines, canneries, flour mills, ice making and farm implements factories developed. In 1916 the Widaman-McDonald Building was built and housed a 500-seat Centennial Theatre. Prosperity continued into the twentieth century. Early in the century, the Winona Interurban began operation, enabling people in the outlying areas to get to Warsaw quickly and inexpensively. A number of commercial buildings were constructed during this period including the Widaman-McDonald Building, the Eagles Lodge and two buildings on Center Street. The district's most impressive 20th century building is the Post Office designed by the

Office of the Supervising Architect The Office of the Supervising Architect was an agency of the United States Treasury Department that designed federal government buildings from 1852 to 1939. The office handled some of the most important architectural commissions of the nineteenth ...

under

James A. Wetmore James Alfonso Wetmore (November 1863 – March 14, 1940) was an American lawyer and administrator, best known as the Acting Supervising Architect of the U.S. Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department from 1915 through 1933. ...

in 1931.

Location

The Warsaw Court House and Jail District consists of two city blocks in downtown Warsaw, Indiana. The district is bounded by Main Street, Indiana Street, Center Street and Lake Street. ''Note:'' This includes ,
Site Map
and Accompanying photographs.

Significance

The District contains thirteen commercial and governmental buildings. The Kosciusko County Court House, the Saemann Building, and the

are architecturally significant. The Eagles Building, the Widaman-McDonald Building, the Humpty Dumpty Restaurant contribute architecturally to the district. The buildings on Center Street provide a continuous

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

line to the sidewalk as a group. Like other counties, Kosciusko County built a magnificent courthouse in the center of the dense commercial district. The courthouse is the architectural and political centerpiece of the community. The nearby Jail, constructed eleven years before the courthouse, was designed by George O. Garnsey, of Chicago. The Saemann Building (Crownover/ Masonic Lodge Building) replaced a resort hotel that was destroyed by fire in 1883. A new hotel was being constructed down the street, it was decided to build a three-story commercial structure. The building had commercial establishments on the first floor, law offices on the second floor, and the third floor was Warsaw's Masonic Lodge.

Inventory

All structures are historically contributing towards the Historic District Status, unless otherwise noted. An ‘O’ rating signifies that the structure had enough historic or architectural significance to be considered for individual listing in the

. The ‘N’ rating signifies that the structure is above average and may, with further investigation be eligible for an individual listing. The ‘C’ or contributing rating signifies that the structure meet the basic inventory qualifications, but fails to meet individual merit, but in combination with other closely placed similar structures warrants inclusion in an

. West Center Street *202 Commercial Building; Twentieth Century Functional, c.1940 (C) * Kosciusko County Courthouse; Victorian Eclectic, 1882-1884 (Thomas J. Tolan and Son, architect; Hiram Iddings, builder) (O) . The county's fourth courthouse was constructed between the years 1882-1884 at a cost of almost $200,000. The building's ornate limestone façade is highly articulated with decorative scrolls, garlands and classical columns. It is topped with a 162-feet domed tower visible for miles around. Second Empire Style, limestone construction, mansard roof with straight sides, central pavilion, paired windows, metal roof curbs, arched double doors with glass panels, belt courses, porthole dormers, tall chimneys with decorated caps. Eyebrow-like window heads and paneled frieze boards. A two-shelled dome with four clocks crowns the building. The Court House is surrounded by native hardwood trees. On the southeast corner of the square is a Civil War cannon. A World War II cannon is sited on the southwest corner of the square. On the Northwest corner is a World War II tank. East Center Street *101, 103, 105 East Center Street- Saemann Building; Italianate, 1883 (N). The Saemann Building: 1883, the three-story Italianate brick structure. The boxed metal cornice wraps the south and west sides with friezes decoration and brackets, each façade have a decorated metal pediment, windows have arches with radiating brick

voussoir A voussoir () is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault. Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The ...

s with metal keystones and metal lug sills. Just east of the courthouse is the Saemann Building, which also served as the Masonic Lodge. The 1883 Italianate building features an elaborately bracketed cornice and a broken pediment bearing the Masons' distinctive emblem. Other smaller, less ornate commercial buildings from this period include the R. H. Hitzler Building and the H. S. Biggs Building. *107 East Center Street: c. 1890, redesigned c. 1935, 2 stories, masonry and stucco, glass block windows. *111 East Center Street: c. 1920, brick laid in running bond, soldier course brick over second floor windows, cut stone sills. *115, 117 East Center Street: **The Eagles Building: 1930, three stories with brick pilasters with stone capitals, stone coping, rectangular panels with

rowlock A rowlock , sometimes spur (due to the similarity in shape and size), oarlock (USA) or gate, is a brace that attaches an oar to a rowing, boat. When a boat is rowed, the rowlock acts as a lever, fulcrum for the oar. On ordinary rowing craft, th ...

brick and square stone corners, brick laid in header bond, soldier course brick over second and third floor windows, cut stone sills. Built for the Fraternal Order of Eagles by Mr. Hodges, designed by Mr. Jesse T. Osborn. *119 East Center Street: Widaman-McDonald Building; Craftsman, 1916 (N) . is two stories with 500-seat theatre and stage behind. The end bays of the south façade are defined by brick pilasters and each has a projected wood frame bay supported by decorative brackets. Brick is laid in stretcher bond, second floor windows have soldier course brick laid on steel lintels and cut stone lugsills. Indiana Street *Times Building: Twentieth Century Functional, c.1946 (N) . *121 Indiana Street:: Kosciusko County Jail; Gothic Revival, 1870/1937/1964 (G. O. Garnsey, architect; Richard Epperson, builder) (O) NR. *At corner of Main Street:

(Corner Main & Indiana Streets): 1870, three-story "Gothic Revival" building designed by Mr. George Garnsey and built by Mr. Richard Epperson. South Buffalo Street *206 South Buffalo Street: Commercial Building; Italianate, 204 c.1880 (N). North Buffalo Street *118 North Buffalo Street: Commercial Building: c. 1890, two-story brick with one-story brick addition in front, c. 1920. *116 North Buffalo Street: Commercial Building: c. 1920, two-story brick structure. *114 North Buffalo Street: The Humpty Dumpty Restaurant: c. 1890, Italianate with boxed cornice, brackets and frieze decoration. *112 North Buffalo Street: Commercial building: c. 1910, one-story masonry with columns. *108 North Buffalo Street: Commercial Building; Italianate, c.1890 (N). South Lake Street *U.S. Post Office: Colonial Revival, 1931 (James A. Wetmore, architect; Ideal Construction Company, contractor) (O). North Lake Street *201 First Christian Church: Gothic Revival, 1889 (O) .

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Geography of Kosciusko County, Indiana Second Empire architecture in Indiana Italianate architecture in Indiana Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana County courthouses in Indiana Clock towers in Indiana Historic districts in Kosciusko County, Indiana National Register of Historic Places in Kosciusko County, Indiana 1870 establishments in Indiana Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana

History

Location

Significance

Inventory

See also

References