WINCHESTER, Ind. — An eastern Indiana county's 1870s courthouse that once seemed destined for demolition is seeing a major renovation start after years of public campaigns to save the building.
Those efforts to preserve the Randolph County Courthouse have culminated with a $7.6 million project that will restore its marble floors, murals, roof and clock tower and give it a 10,000 square-foot addition.
County officials and others took part in a ceremonial groundbreaking Tuesday for the project in downtown Winchester.
"It's a victory for everyone who loves historic buildings," Wayne Goodman, the regional director for the preservation group Indiana Landmarks, said in a story posted by WTHR in Indianapolis. "I think it's a victory for every resident in Randolph County and the entire state of Indiana."
The campaign to save the building drew attention in 2005 when a group of women aged 80 and older posed in the buff behind strategically placed miniature courthouses for a fundraising calendar.
That came soon after County Commissioners voted 2-1 to tear down the three-story brick building and build a new one on courthouse square of the city about 20 miles east of Muncie.
In the end, the "will of the people" won out over attempts to raze the building, county council President Dick Wise told The Star Press of Muncie. The courthouse, instead, will remain "a point of pride for decades to come," he said.
The clock tower - replacing one removed decades ago - will include carillon bells and four clocks, with money for the clocks coming from groups such as the Raise the Roof Committee of Farmland and elementary school children from throughout the county.
"We want every child in the county to have at least a penny in this," County Commissioner Noel Carpenter said.
No single person can take credit for saving the building, he said. "Lots of folks were involved."
Officials credited Randolph County's "calendar girls" for not only pitching in to save the courthouse but also prompting state legislators to create the Indiana Courthouse Preservation Commission.
State Rep. Bill Davis, R-Portland, said he enjoyed looking for courthouses when he travels to cities throughout the state.
"This is one that will stand in glory for many years to come," he told the crowd.
