Spencer County, Indiana



Founding: January 10, 1818
Parent counties: Perry and Warrick
Namesake: Spier Spencer (c. 1770–1811), Indiana militia officer
Seat: Rockport (1818–)
Land area: 397 square miles
Population (2010): 20,952
Population (historic): 1,882 (1820); 8,616 (1850); 22,122 (1880); 16,713 (1930)
Periods of population growth: 1820–1880; 1960–1980
Subdivisions: Seven towns; one CDP; nine townships
National Register listings: Seven
Income (per capita): $23,609
Income (median household): $47,697
Business establishments: 395 (53 people per business)
Pre-1939 residences (estimated): 1,419 (15.9%)
Vacant houses: 878 (9.8%)
Sources of settlement: Germany, Kentucky, and Ohio

Rockport

Namesake: Outcroppings along the Ohio River
Founding: 1818 (platting); 1823 (post office)
Population (2010): 2,270
Population (historic): 412 (1850); 1,720 (1870); 2,882 (1900); 2,396 (1930)
Periods of population growth: pre-1850–1880; 1890s
Typology: Grid

First Courthouse


Location: Main Street (Rockport)
Construction: 1818
Years of service: 1818–1822
Typology: Unknown; log
Style: Unknown
Builder: Unknown
Cost: Unknown
Status: Razed
Features of note: Appearance unknown.

Second Courthouse


Location: Main Street (Rockport)
Construction: 1819–1822
Years of service: 1822–1835
Typology: Unknown; brick; two-story
Style: Unknown
Builder: Unknown
Cost: Unknown
Status: Razed
Features of note: Appearance unknown.

Third Courthouse


Location: Main Street (Rockport)
Construction: 1835–1837
Years of service: 1837–1863
Typology: Cubic; brick; two-story
Style: Unknown
Builders: Daniel Brown, Thomas Britton, et al.
Cost: $2,903 ($63,836 in 2017 dollars)
Status: Razed
Features of note: Appearance unknown. The building measured 40' by 40'.

Fourth Courthouse


Location: Main Street (Rockport)
Construction: 1863–1864
Years of service: 1864–1919
Typology: Center-hall; brick; two-story
Style: Greek Revival
Architect: Thomas F. DeBruler
Cost: $24,600 ($497,663 in 2017 dollars)
Status: Razed
Features of note: Centered gable; five-bay facade; entablature; pilasters; rectangular lintels and sills; six-over-six windows; operable shutters; Classical Revival porch.

For photos, see this page.

Fifth Courthouse

Photo by Nyttend.

Location: 200 Main Street (Rockport)
Construction: 1919–1921
Years of service: 1921–
Typology: Axial (cruciform); stone; three-story
Style: Classical Revival
Architect: Elmer E. Dunlap
Cost: Unknown
Status: Extant; functional
Features of note: Central dome; rooftop parapet; clock; denticulate entablature; pilasters; scored first-floor stonework; segmental-arched windows with voussoirs.


Sources: Wikipedia; Courthouse History; United States Census Bureau; History of Warrick, Spencer, and Perry Counties, Indiana (Goodspeed, 1885).

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