The Peoples' Courthouse

The Peoples' Courthouse. . This courthouse was built through the determination of early Rising Sun citizens. They sent the intrepid settler Colonel Abel C. Pepper to Corydon, then the state capital, in 1817 to petition the state to form a new county out of Dearborn County with Rising Sun as its county seat. The request was denied, but not before it sparked a 27-year rivalry with the city of Lawrenceburg, the existing county seat for Dearborn County., Lawrenceburg, situated on the eastern edge of Dearborn County, was in fact replaced as the county seat by Wilmington in 1836, picked by the state for its more central location., Now the Rising Sun “new county” advocates were in a position to bargain. If land for Ohio County could be taken from the southern side of Dearborn County, Lawrenceburg might regain its county seat status. An alliance was formed with politicians in Lawrenceburg, and in 1844 the Indiana Senate approved the new County of Ohio and restored the Dearborn county seat to Lawrenceburg. As part of the agreement with the state, Ohio County agreed to build its courthouse without public funds., Colonel Pepper donated the land and construction was completed in 1845. The original cost and architect are unknown; the design may have been taken from a pattern book available at the time. Pinkney and John James, who laid out the town of Rising Sun, may have decided upon the style which is accented by massive Dorian columns., The building was designed in the Greek Revival style and is noted for its classic temple form. It is the oldest courthouse in continuous use in Indiana, and was extensively restored in 1987., By the Way: In order to meet a state requirement that any county be at least 400 square miles, Dearborn County was surveyed during low water time on the Ohio River, creating the surplus to allow formation of Ohio County!