By David Fenker
News Editor
WABASH COUNTY, Ind. – Restoration work on the old Wabash County Jail and Sheriff’s House is expected to be completed this fall.
That’s what Paul Hayden, director of the Indiana Landmarks Northeast Field Office, told the Wabash County Board of Commissioners at its July 31 meeting.
“Literally, we’re working from the top of the building down. The major improvement at this time is the roof and gutting system… the cornices had large holes in them with pigeons coming in and out; those have been rebuilt, the roof’s been rebuilt, the cupula has been repaired and reroofed, and gutters and downspouts have been installed,” Hayden said.
Additional work thus far includes the completion of interior and exterior demolition, as well as planning for several other projects that will need advertised for bids.
“We’re very pleased where we’re at on this. We’re right on target for the scheduling that we talked about back in the spring, and our budget is right on target as well, so we expect to see early fall completion,” Hayden said.
Indiana Landmarks acquired the jail and sheriff’s house from the county in March 2017, saving it from demolition. The organization intends to use part of the building for its Wabash office, and will rent out additional office space. The commissioners agreed to the transfer – which included the property and $75,000 that would have been spent on demolition – in part because of the ability to collect tax money from that rented space, as well as to save the historic structure.
Indiana Landmarks matched the county’s $75,000 to restore the facility, totaling at least $150,000 in work being done to preserve the building and restore it to its original look. One of the final pieces needing restoration is the front porch.
“The biggest project that we will have in the future is the restoration of the front porch,” Hayden said.
“I don’t have an exact [cost for that restoration], because the drawings have gone down to the state for their approval, then they come back and I have to bid those out.”
Hayden estimated that it would take four weeks for the proposal to be approved, and that work would begin after Labor Day.
He said that the recently-demolished porch was probably built in the 1920s, and was in bad condition. The proposal for the restoration in a scaled-down version of the porch on the Wabash County Courthouse.
“We surmised that it’s probably very similar to the original porch in that both our building and your building were built in the same year by the same architect,” Hayden said.
Additionally, the current steel front door to the old jail building will be removed, and Indiana Landmarks has commissioned a local mill to make two large oak doors to replace it, which the organization believes will be similar to the building’s original doors.
The mill shop is not the only local company hired by Indiana Landmarks; according to Hayden, nearly all the contractors involved in the project came from the Wabash Building Department’s referral list.
Hayden also noted that the Wabash Historic Preservation Commission has reviewed all the work done to the building.