The Elkhart County Courthouse
... and what you may not know
Elkhart County, Indiana was formed in the early 1800's. One of the first tasks lawmakers undertook was to erect a courthouse to handle legal matters and to house citizens' public records such as census and marriage information. Courthouses were located in the city selected as the county seat, and Goshen, Indiana was chosen for that purpose.
This video tells stories of how Goshen came to be the county seat of Elkhart County rather than Elkhart, what the pupose is of a circuit court and why it is located in the courthouse, historically important art located in the courtroom and judge's chambers, and a guided tour of the 1870 E. Howard & Company tower clock that is still so important to people downtown near the courthouse..
You will hear stories of a tunnel that connected the courthouse with the jail, a fountain on the courthouse front lawn, and a Civil War era cannon (named "Old Bullion") located on the west side of the courthouse. There are courtroom stories from the current and former circuit court judges, and a very interesting account of an 1860 Abraham Lincoln presidential campaign banner (now a framed painting) which hangs on the wall in the judge's office. A tour of the courthouse tower clock demonstrates the timekeeping and chime workings of the clock mechanism along with a visit up into the courthouse dome where the four clock faces are located.
If you have driven past the courthouse hundreds of times but have never stopped in for a visit or a tour, this video is for you!
Runtime approx. 80 minutes.