Completed in 1876, the Madison County Courthouse rises in limestone and brick, its four symmetrical wings leading to a central tower capped by a dome that seems to glow a little at sunset. The architecture is Second Empire with just enough restraint to feel Midwestern. No gold. No grandeur for grandeur’s sake. Just a careful balance of authority and beauty. A building made to last. A building meant to watch.
There is something about courthouses like this—built during Reconstruction, in the long shadow of a war that had nearly undone the country—that speaks to hope. You don’t build a building like this unless you believe the republic will survive long enough to need it.
And here it is, still in use. Still rising above the square. Surrounded by a carousel of small-town life: antique stores, ice cream shops, historical plaques, and the occasional pickup truck idling at the light.