Hidden history discovered in Pulaski Co Courthouse walls

As renovations at the Pulaski County Courthouse in Winamac continue, hidden history is emerging from its walls.

Pulaski County Community Development Commission Executive Director Nathan Origer said history is coming back to life, with part of the nearly $12.7 construction contract including the delicate removal and restoration of anything and everything that can be saved in the historic building, including the baseboards, door jams and the judge’s bench. 

Origer said amongst the many interesting things found during the move, an American flag displaying 44 stars was discovered in the clerk’s office vault. 

Origer believes the flag dates back to the early 1890s. 

This 44-star flag had became the official flag for the United States on July 4, 1891. That year a star was added onto the flag for Wyoming, after the state had been admitted to the Union on July 10, 1890. Presidents Benjamin Harrison and Grover Cleveland would serve under that flag during the five years it remained with 44 stars. 

Origer believes that the flag could have been in the previous Pulaski County Courthouse.

Construction of the Pulaski County Courthouse began in 1894. By 1895, the massive three-story Romanesque Revival style limestone building was complete, measuring 88 feet by 90 feet, and topped by a slate hipped roof.

Origer said the flag isn't the only treasure found during the recent construction.

As decades of paperwork, newspapers and Pulaski County history continue to emerge from the dust, Origer says finding things like a record book dating back to the 1870s of delinquent property taxes make the past come back to life.