The Jefferson County courthouse in historic Madison, Indiana was built in 1855. In May of 2009 a fire broke out in the clock tower during a construction project. The fire destroyed the clock tower and most of the third floor.
Photo by Jamey Cobb, May 20, 2009
Restored after the fire
The massive 3100 pound bell in the tower fell into the third floor as the fire destroyed the bell supports. The bell was removed from the wreckage by crane after the fire was put out. The repairs on the courthouse were completed in 2011, including a modern chimes system in place of the bell.
New home for the bell
The bell became a project for a couple of trade classes and a teacher from the Madison Consolidated Schools. This group designed and built an open-air structure on the courthouse grounds to house the bell. The bell has a distinctive strip of figures and the markings “Buckeye Foundry” and “1864 Cincinnati.” One story says that the bell is tuned to the musical note “E”. The project was dedicated in 2014.
Roadtirement 
That’s terrible! How did the steeple get lit?
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The courthouse clock tower/belfry was under renovation and construction was blamed for the fire.
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That’s a shame! I’m glad it was rebuilt. I’ll bet someone was fired…
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Do not know what consequences occurred to who. The fix cost $6 million.
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Six million! There must have been far more structual damage.
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This was in 2009, building restoration finished in 2011. The cost is understandable, it replaced the entire 3rd flood courtrooms and the clock tower and belfry, all built to reproduce the original 1855 structure/architecture.
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A little like Notre Dame.
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It affected the locals as much as Notre Dame affected Parisians. It was a $6 million repair. Fortunately very few records were lost. The third floor was court rooms, not record storage.
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i found this piece of Madison’s history very interesting.
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Thanks! I remember when the fire happened.
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Always a tragedy to lose a beautiful piece of architectural history, but it’s good to see this creative restoration.
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They did do a good job on the restoration. The community as a whole appreciates the historic buildings in town.
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This is very cool!
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Thanks. The people in Madison really like their historic buildings and such.
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