Montgomery County officials are inviting the public to a re-dedication of the Montgomery County Courthouse. The celebration is scheduled for noon Wednesday and will take place on the south side of the courthouse.
Commissioners decided to renovate the courthouse interior and exterior. The exterior needed repairs including replacing the roof shingles and repairing leaks in exterior walls. The inside has been updated to better accommodate the courts and county clerk’s office. The space became available when other county offices moved to the Montgomery County Government Center.
The courthouse will be open for attendees to see the improvements.
The cost of the renovation was $5.6 million and was funded with Building Corporation Lease Rental Bonds in the amount of $4.4 million. The remaining $1.2 million was paid with cash from the American Rescue Plan Act balance on hand. The project was initiated in March 2024. DLZ was the project architect consultant firm.
The noon ceremony is being used to celebrate the past and present history of Montgomery County. Much of the ceremony will be used to remember the 1875 Courthouse Cornerstone Dedication Ceremony.
Tom Meeks, from the Lew Wallace Study, will speak in honor of General Lew Wallace who gave the featured speech at the 1875 dedication ceremony.
A ribbon cutting ceremony will take place with representatives from the county that were also included in the 1875 ribbon cutting ceremony.
The ribbon cutting photo will include Montgomery County Council President David Hunt, Montgomery County Commission President Dan Guard, ceremony speakers and representatives from Crawfordsville Main Street, the building corporation, Wabash College students, county courthouse employees, Crawfordsville city employees, Crawfordsville Mayor Todd Barton, county farmers, Crawfordsville Masonic Lodge, Crawfordsville Fire Department and Crawfordsville High School Superintendent Dr. Rex Ryker, whose great-uncle participated in the cornerstone dedication on May 6, 1875.
The event will be the second re-dedication ceremony for the courthouse after the building was remodeled in 1986 and 1987.
A new time capsule was placed in the cornerstone. The cornerstone from 1875 was opened in 1986. Some of its contents are housed at the Crawfordsville District Public Library and there is a video of the opening of the contents and of the re-dedication ceremony.
County officials are attempting to find some of the missing contents from the original capstone. The items not found are a key to the city, coins and photographs.
Anyone with information on the missing historical items can email commissioners@montgomerycounty.in.gov.
