One big week for Shelby

The following article was originally published April 2, 2016.

Harrison St. was abuzz the second week of May, 1937. The new Coca-Cola bottling plant hosted a grand opening on S. Harrison and the nearby new bridge over Blue River was dedicated. But newly elected Indiana Governor M. Clifford Townsend arrived in Shelbyville to see the excitement on S. Harrison: the dedication of a brand new courthouse.

The three projects had offered locals hope during the throes of the Great Depression.

“While (the courthouse) was being erected, employment was given to workmen who needed the employment,” Townsend said in his remarks.

With several state dignitaries on hand, and following speeches from Judge Alonzo Blair and Mayor I.E. Webb, Shelby County Judge James Emmert delivered a keynote address that reminded the county of its prominent place in courthouse history.

After all, he noted, former U.S. President Benjamin Harrison and former vice presidents Thomas Hendricks and Thomas Marshall all argued cases in the old Shelby County courthouse.

Emmert’s name could also be added to the list of accomplished Shelby County court regulars. A Harvard graduate and World War I veteran, Emmert first opened his law office above Shelby National Bank. At 30 years old, he was elected Mayor. Four years later, in 1929, he was elected Circuit Court Judge, a position held for 12 years before returning to private practice. Emmert later served as Indiana Attorney General and on the Indiana Supreme Court, commuting from Shelbyville to Indianapolis throughout both tenures.

Solomon’s Wisdom

Most relevant to today’s Circuit Court, which Judge Charles O’Connor has presided for the past 34 years, is Emmert’s hand in ensuring the Solomon mural made the move to the new courthouse. Affixed to the old Circuit Court ceiling, the mural was removed during the transition for artists from John Herron Art Institute and Lieber Brothers in Indianapolis to restore the piece.

Although the origin of the painting is a bit of a mystery, courthouse maintenance supervisor Frank Burch personally saw the back of it during the most recent Circuit Court renovations about 15 years ago. It is signed “R.B. Gruelle.”

The old courthouse was built in 1852 and renovated in 1878, but Gruelle came to Indiana in 1882 and his work became popular shortly thereafter. Documents could not be found verifying how the painting appeared on the old courthouse ceiling, but presumably it occurred between 1882 and 1905, when R.B. Gruelle moved his family from Indiana to New York. Gruelle’s sons became artists in their own right, with one of them creating the famous Raggedy Ann and Andy series.

Moving Day

On January 9, 1936, other important items were also removed from the old courthouse and stored at First National Bank, as well as a garage at 615 W. Franklin St.

The next day, January 10, the Republican reported that “Old records and documents that were regarded valueless by county officials and a committee of county bar association members were burned today in huge bonfires on the courthouse yard.” (Editor’s note: presumably, this was just an oddly constructed sentence and no bar association members were burned).

Later in the day, the large bell that hung in the old courthouse tower was removed and hauled away by employees of Levenstein Brothers of Shelbyville. The bell had once tolled for every dignitary and county employee death.

But once the rubble cleared, the cornerstone to the new building was laid on April 18, 1936. A copper box inside contained two Shelbyville newspapers of the date of the ceremony, a photograph of the former court house, names of the commissioners serving at the time of the erection of the original court house in 1852, those on the board when the building was remodeled in 1878, and those serving at the then-present time.

The Mural Today

Minor changes and a major renovation mark the past 80 years of the present-day courthouse, but Gruelle’s Solomon mural remains.

Although groups actively seek Gruelle works for purchase, they won’t likely find a seller in Shelby County.

“I’m never going to take (the painting) down,” Judge O’Connor said.