We chose this place for our virtual reward because we feel this most represents Hometown Northwest Indiana. There is also an Adventure Lab, (formerly W.I.G. GC6QN97), "Lincoln Highway - Historical Valparaiso, IN" so you may experience the rich history of the town of Valparaiso. Great care has been taken to keep the structural integrity of the original buildings and facades from the 1800's.
You are viewing the former Porter County Jail and Sheriff's House. The sheriff’s residence was built in 1860. Originally, a log stockade sat directly behind the house and served as the holding cell for prisoners. The structure is Italianate in design. It is located on East Indiana Ave, which was Mechanic Street when the house was built. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
The residence is decorated to the early 1900s. Joliet Stone is used for the voussoirs and keystone. The Joliet Stone has been rusticated at third points along each side of a window or door. Rusticated stone is also used in the quoins and foundation walls. The brackets and eave moldings are of pressed tin. The roof is a shallow hipped style. The four large chimneys were removed when steam heating was installed. The original heating was by stoves on the upper floors and small arched white marble fireplaces on first floor. The interior woodwork is unchanged except for the changes to add bathrooms and steam heat. There are four rooms on the first floor with an open stairway to the second floor. There are four large rooms on the second floor, which match those on the first. A closed stairway leads to the attic. The basement has a furnace and laundry area with a fruit cellar, and a coal bin.
Two rooms were used as an office and recreational area for the sheriff and deputy. The jail was added to the residence around 1871 for a combined cost of $26,500. Prior to its construction, prisoners were taken to LaPorte County. Designed by R. Rose using Gothic Revival styling with a showing of strength and a commanding presence in the community, Shad and Lembke were the builders. A new jail was opened in 1974 and this facility closed.
The Jail and Sheriff’s residence represent an idea about local law enforcement in the mid 1800s. The attached residence provided for the Sheriff to be on duty 24-hrs a day, and his wife would cook for the prisoners and act as the jail matron when women were there.
The historic Porter County Jail was also once home to the Historical Society of Porter County. It is located at 153 South Franklin, Valparaiso, Indiana on the southeast corner across from the courthouse square.
TO GET CREDIT FOR THIS CACHE:. Please post a picture of your GPSr, phone or caching device; OR, a thumbs up, (or other some such thing you may wish to do), in front of the building. If you do not have access to a phone or device with a camera to complete this, please answer in an email the following question: On the plaque, to the left of the door, "Which Department placed this building on the National Register of Historic Places"?
Please do not park in the Moose Lodge parking lot.
Virtual Reward - 2017/2018
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.