The Wayne County Courthouse is a historic

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

located in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

Wayne County, Indiana Wayne County is a county located in east central Indiana, United States, on the border with Ohio. As of the 2010 census, the population was 68,917. The county seat is Richmond. Wayne County comprises the Richmond, IN Micropolitan Statistica ...

. It was built during the period 1890–93, and is in the

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish, and Italian Romanes ...

style. The building was designed by

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

, architect

James W. McLaughlin James W. McLaughlin (November 1, 1834 – March 4, 1923) was a Cincinnati, Ohio architect. He studied to be an architect working under famed James Keys Wilson. He fought in the American Civil War serving in the Union Army. During the ...

and the construction was supervised by

New Castle, Indiana New Castle is a city in Henry County, Indiana, east-northeast of Indianapolis, on the Big Blue River. The city is the county seat of Henry County. New Castle is home to New Castle Fieldhouse, the largest high school gymnasium in the world. ...

, architect William S. Kaufman. The "U"-shaped building measures approximately 214 feet by 128 feet, and is constructed of brick faced with

Indiana Limestone Indiana limestone — also known as Bedford limestone in the building trade — has long been an economically important building material, particularly for monumental public structures. Indiana limestone is a more common term for Salem Limestone, ...

. It features a projecting entrance pavilion, high pitched hipped and gable roofs, large semicircular arches, and octagonal corner tower. ''Note:'' This includes and Accompanying photographs Architectural historians Michael Tomlan and Mary Raddant-Tomlan have suggested that the Wayne County Courthouse was influenced both in terms of exterior design and elements of interior layout by

Henry Hobson Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...

's Allegheny County Courthouse in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. It 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 ...

in 1978. It borders the northern boundary of the

Old Richmond Historic District The Old Richmond Historic District is a neighborhood of historic residential and commercial buildings and national historic district located at Richmond, Wayne County, Indiana. The district encompasses 212 contributing buildings located just e ...

which includes some of Richmond's earliest extant architecture.

References

External links

Information and photos from Waynet.org
* County courthouses in Indiana Historic American Buildings Survey in Indiana Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Romanesque Revival architecture in Indiana Government buildings completed in 1893 Buildings and structures in Richmond, Indiana National Register of Historic Places in Wayne County, Indiana 1893 establishments in Indiana {{WayneCountyIN-NRHP-stub