Knox County - American Courthouses

Knox County is named for Henry Knox, who was a general and the United States Secretary of War.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Sullivan County and Greene County

E – Daviess County

S – Pike County and Gibson County

W – Wabash County, Illinois, Lawrence County, Illinois and Crawford County, Illinois

Created: June 20, 1790

County Seat:

Vincennes 1824 – present

County Courthouse – Vincennes

Location: 101 North 7th Street / Busseron Street

Built: 1873 – 1876

Style: Norman with Lombard and Tuscan detailing

Architect: Edwin May and Adolf Scherrer of Indianapolis

Contractor: F L Farman & Joseph K Frick

Description: The building faces north and is a three story cream colored limestone structure. The building is located on the landscaped grounds of the Courthouse Square in the center of Vincennes. The north front has three arches on the first story with arched balconies on the second and third stories. The walls are elaborately carved and ornamented with marble statues in appropriate niches, representing General George Rogers Clark, the Goddess of Liberty and a Federal soldier, and also two monumental tablets of marble on the front of the building. On the northwest corner is a high square tower with clock and square cupola at the top. The clock has a dial fronting each point of the compass and has a large bell of eighteen hundred ponds. On the other corners are shorter square towers with small arched windows and each tower has a different design. The roof is hipped. In the interior are wide hallways running north-south and marble stairs. The County Circuit Court courtroom is located on the northeast side of the third story. The County Superior Court courtroom is located on the northeast side of the second story. The building houses the County Circuit Court and the County Superior Court of the 25th Judicial District. On the southeast side is the Old Sheriff’s Residence and Jail built in 1909. On the northeast side is the Soldiers and Sailors Monument built in 1914. On the northwest side is the one story red colored brick County Court House Annex which was formerly a commercial building and houses a Superior Court courtroom.

Note: Knox County was the first county created in Indiana in 1800 and Clark County was the second county having been created in 1801, but was the first county to build a courthouse followed by Dearborn County in 1810. Knox County was the third in 1813.

See: The 25th Judicial District includes Davies County, Dubois County, Martin County, Perry County, Pike County and Spencer County.

History: The county was created in 1790 and Vincennes was selected as the county seat in 1800 when the Indiana Territory was formed. The Indiana Territory Capitol Building was built in 1800 to 1805. The county officers from 1790 to 1813 met in private homes. The first courthouse was a brick structure built in Vincennes by William Lindsay in 1813 at a cost of $3,156. The second courthouse was a brick structure built by John Moore in 1831 at a cost of $3,971. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1873 to 1876 at a cost of $362,000.

Indiana Territorial Capitol Building – Vincennes

Location: 1 Harrison Street / North 1st Street

Built: 1800 – 1805

Style: Federal

Architect: Unknown

Contractor: Unknown

Description: The building faces northeast and is a two story red colored wood frame structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds to the northeast of the center of Vincennes at the Vincennes University.

Note: Vincennes was the original capital of the Indiana Territory which included Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and the eastern half of Minnesota from 1800 to 1809, the western half of Michigan from 1800 to 1805 and the eastern half of Michigan from 1803 to 1805. In 1813, the seat of the Indiana Territory was moved to Corydon.