Whitley County Sheriff’s House and Jail (Columbia City, Indiana)

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(Listed on Historic Landmarks Foundation 10 Most Endangered 2007)

Modern jails are massive concrete structures with slits for windows, surrounded by tall fences topped by coils of razor-sharp wire. Quite a change from their nineteenth century counterparts, when jails tended to look like the mansions of merchant princes or the junior versions of local courthouses. In fact, J.C. Johnson, an architect known for his Indiana courthouses, designed the 1875 Whitley County Sheriff’s House and Jail. Located a half-block from the courthouse in Columbia City, the structure displays the highly ornamented Second Empire style of architecture, featuring a mansard roof, elaborate dormers, and carved sandstone details. Even one who knows little about architecture would peg this building as a landmark. The structure is part of the National Register-listed Columbia City historic district.

The threat: Empty since the county moved out in 1985, the former Whitley County Sheriff’s House and Jail is used just once a year, as a commercial haunted house at Halloween. The owner, an adjacent auto dealer, has not harmed the structure. However, the site’s primary use as parking to support the dealership leaves the building itself only minimally maintained and showing signs of deterioration. Given the structure’s once-a-year use, the owner has little incentive to invest in restoration. The landmark’s National Register status offers no protection from demolition by a private owner. The Sheriff’s House and Jail should be one of the city’s crown jewels rather than a shabby spook house used to scare children once a year. It could be adapted for a variety of year-round uses that would justify restoration and enhance the local tax base.
www.historiclandmarks.org/news/2007_10Most/10most07-9.h...