Parke County - American Courthouses

Parke County is named for Benjamin Parke, who was the commander of a troop of light Dragoons at the Battle of Tippecanoe and he was a delegate of the Indiana Territory to the United States Congress.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Fountain County and Montgomery County

E – Montgomery County and Putnam County

S – Clay County and Vigo County

W – Vermillion County

Created: January 9, 1821

County Seat:

Roseville 1821 – 1822

Armiesburg 1822 – 1824

Rockville 1824 – present

County Courthouse – Rockville

Location: 116 West High Street / South Jefferson Street

Built: 1879 – 1882

Style: Second Empire

Architect: Thomas J Tolan & Brentwood Tolan of Fort Wayne

Contractor: W H Myers of Fort Wayne

Description: The building faces north and is a three story gray colored limestone structure. The building is located on the landscaped grounds of the Town Square in the center of Rockville. The foundation is native sandstone. The center section on the north and south sides has a portico with three arches on the first story and balcony above. Two columns rise to a small pediment at the roof line. Windows on the first story segmental-arched and round-arched on the second story. On the center of the roof is a high tower with hemispherical dome and clock and small cupola at the top. The roof has dormer windows. A wide entablature with dentils and modillions extends around the top of the building. In the interior is a cross hall plan on the first story with patterned floor and staircase. The County Circuit Court courtroom is located on the east side of the second story. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial District. The building was renovated in 2001 to 2002 by Siemens Building Technologies of Indianapolis. To the southeast is the old Sheriff Residence/Jail and Boiler House built in 1879 and designed by Thomas J Tolan and Son of Fort Wayne.

See: The architect, Brentwood S Tolan of Fort Wayne also designed courthouses in Allen County, Kosciusko County, LaGrange County, LaPorte County and Whitley Count y.

See: The 11th Judicial District includes Fountain County, Montgomery County , Vermillion County and Warren County.

.History: The county was created in 1821 and Roseville was selected as the county seat. In 1822 the county seat was moved to Armiesburg. In 1824 the county seat was moved to Rockville. The first courthouse was a log structure built in 1826 on the Town Square. The second courthouse was a brick structure built in 1832. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1879 to 1882 at a cost of $79,000.