Old Porter County Jail
Porter County Jail and Sheriff's House | |
  | |
| Location | 153 Franklin St, Valparaiso, Indiana |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°28′20″N 87°03′35″W / 41.47222°N 87.05972°WCoordinates: 41°28′20″N 87°03′35″W / 41.47222°N 87.05972°W Fatal error: The format of the coordinate could not be determined. Parsing failed. |
| Built | 16 Mar 1871 |
| Architectural style | Joliet stone, English castle keep |
| NRHP reference # | 132004501[1] |
| Added to NRHP | 6/23/1976 |
The old Porter County Jail is located at 153 Franklin St, Valparaiso, Indiana. The residence portion of the building was built in the 1860s, and the jail was added on in 1871. From March 1872 to January 1975 the building functioned as the residence of the sheriff of Porter County and their families as well as the county jail.
The c. 1860 Hunt Residence
Long recognized as the home to Porter County's sheriff between March 1872 and January 1975, the beautiful Italianate residence was believed to have been built for Franklin Hunt, a wealthy Valparaiso merchant, in 1860. It is located on East Indiana Avenue, which was Mechanic Street when the house was first constructed. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.[2]
Joliet Stone is used for the voussoirs and keystone. The Joliet Stone has been rusticated at third points along each side of a window or door. Rusticated stone is also used in the quoins and foundation walls. The brackets and eave moldings are of pressed tin. The roof is a shallow hipped style. The four large chimneys were removed when steam heating was installed. The original heating was by stoves on the upper floors and small arched white marble fireplaces on first floor.[3]
The interior woodwork is relatively unchanged except for the changes to add bathrooms and steam heat. There are four rooms on the first floor with an open stairway to the second floor. There are four large rooms on the second floor, which match those on the first. A closed stairway leads to the attic. The basement has a furnace and laundry area with a fruit cellar, and a coal bin. Two rooms were used as office and recreational areas for the sheriff deputies.[3]
Inscriptions of the cornerstone laid in 1871 name R. Rose as the architect. Shade & Lembke, Builders, Wm. Davison, Stone Cutter from Joliet, Illinois. S.P. Robbins, A.B. Price and A.V. Bartholomew were the County Commissioners.[3]
1871 Porter County Jail
The jail was added to the residence in 1871 and officially opened in March 1872 for a combined construction cost of $26,500. From the late 1850s until the 1871 jail's construction, prisoners were taken to LaPorte County.[4] Designed by R. Rose using Gothic Revival styling with a showing of strength and a commanding presence in the community, Shade and Lembke were the builders.[5] A new jail was opened in December 1973 and this facility closed.
Significance
The Porter County Jail and Sheriff's Residence represent a common idea about local Indiana law enforcement in the mid-1800s. The attached residence provided for the Sheriff to be on duty 24-hours a day, and it was law that his wife was required to cook for the prisoners and act as the jail matron when women were present.[3]
References
- ↑ National Park Service (2013-11-02). "National Register Information System – Porter County Jail and Sheriff's House (#132004501)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedMullins71 - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)" (Searchable database). Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. Retrieved 2016-06-01. Note: This includes Bertha Stalbaum; Joann Sporleder; Ruth Price (March 1975). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Porter County Jail and Sheriff's Home" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-06-01. and Accompanying photographs.
- ↑ Neeley, George E.; City of Valparaiso, A Pictorial History; G. Bradley Publishing, Inc.; St. Louis, Missouri; 1989; pg. 85.
- ↑ Porter County Interim Report, Indiana Historic Sites and Structures Inventory; Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana; July 1991; pg. 46.
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