Newton County - American Courthouses

Newton County is named for John Newton, who was a sergeant who served under General Francis Marion in the Revolutionary War.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Lake County

E – Jasper County

S – Benton County

W – Iroquois County, Illinois and Kankakee County, Illinois

Created: February 7, 1835

County Seat:

Kentland 1859 – present

County Courthouse – Kentland

Location: 210 North 3rd Street / East Graham Street

Built: 1905 – 1906

Style: Italian Renaissance

Architect: Joseph T Hutton of Hammond

Contractor: Eric Lund of Hammond

Description: The building faces west and is a three story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Kentland. White colored stone headers are above each window. There is a red colored title roof which slopes to each corner. The west front entrance has a small pediment over the entrance on the second story. In the interior, the first story has the County Commissioner’s Room located on the southwest side. The second story has the entrance lobby along the west side. The third story contains twin sets of courtrooms with the County Circuit Court courtroom on the southwest side and the County Superior Court on the northwest side. The building houses the County Circuit Court and the County Superior Court of the 2nd Judicial District. The architect was Joseph T Hutton of Hammond and the contractor was Eric Lund of Hammond. The building was remodeled in 1989 and the west front was added.

See: National Register of Historic Places – Newton County Courthouse

See: The 2nd Judicial District includes Benton County, Jasper County and Porter County.

History: The county was created in 1835 and Kentland was selected as the county seat in 1859 when the county was re-organized. The first courthouse was a one story log cabin in 1859. The second courthouse was a two story structure built by John B Chesebrough at a cost of $974 in 1861. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1905 to 1906 at a cost of $34,855.