Prior to the year 1831, the County Board (now the three County Commissioners) comprised all the Justices of the Peace in the county. The first County Board was the Justices elected as stated above. They met at the house of Jacob Cutler, early in June, 1822, for the transaction of business. One of the first acts was to divide the county into townships, and order an election held in each for the necessary officers. The number of townships erected at this time was four: Washington, Monroe, Ray and Harrison. James Shields was appointed Treasurer of the county, and Charles Beeler, Surveyor. The report of the Commissioners appointed by the Legislature to locate the county seat, was presented to the board at their first session, and formally accepted, and the Commissioners were paid and discharged. Nothing further can be stated regarding the early acts of the County Board, owing to the destruction of the records by fire a few years ago. This loss was a great misfortune to the county.


    The first session of the Morgan County Circuit Court was begun at house of Jacob Cutler, on the 25th of Match, 1822, with Judge William W. Wick  in the chair. He presented his commission from Gov.
Jennings constituting him President Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit, for the period of seven years from January, 1822. On this commission was the following endorsement:
  
STATE OR INDIANA THIRD JUDICIAL COURT
Be it remembered.- that on the 12th day of February, A. D. 1822, personally appeared  before me, Miles C. Eggleston President Judge of the circuit aforesaid, the within named William W. Wick who being duly sworn according to law, took the following oaths, to wit: That he will support the Constitution of the United States, and of the State of Indiana; and that he will, to the best of his ability and judgment. discharge the duties of his office as President Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit of the State aforesaid faithfully; and that he has not since the 1st day of January, 1819, either directly or indirectly, knowingly given, accepted or carried a challenge to any person in or out of the said State, to fight in single combat with any deadly weapon; and that he will not knowingly give, accept or carry a challenge to any person or persons to fight with any deadly weapon in single combat, either in or out of the State, during his continuance in his said office.

    John Gray and Jacob Cutler produced their commissions as Associate Judges, and George H. Beeler and Benjamin Cutler produced theirs as Clerk and Sheriff respectively. Court was then declared open. The first business transacted was the adoption of a seal for the court, an impression of which was made on the record of the court. The next act was to admit Hiram M. Curry, Craven P. Hester and Calvin Fletcher to practice as attorneys at the court. The latter was appointed Prosecuting Attorney, Larkin Reynolds and Jonathan Williams were appointed County Commissioners to fill vacancies that had been made. Both the Clerk and the Sheriff then gave their official bonds, with satisfactory security, which were approved by the court.- The first suit was a case in chancery, Jacob Cutler vs. J. M. Cox. The defendant not being a resident of the State, the notice of the pendency of the suit was ordered published four weeks in the Indianapolis Gazette, notifying him that unless he appeared at the next term of the court to answer, the complainant's bill would be taken as confessed, and acted upon accordingly. The court then adjourned.


    This session was begun at the house of Jacob Cutler on the 23d of September, 1822, present, John Gray and Jacob Cutler, Associate Judges. It having been made manifest that a place for holding court had been prepared at Martinsville, the new county seat, the Judges, in accordance with the enactment for the formation and organization of Morgan County, before proceeding to business, ordered am adjournment of the court to the house of George H. Beeler, in the town of Martinsville. The court reassembled at 1 o'clock, p.m.. Daniel B. Wick and James Whitcomb were admitted to practice law at the court. The Sheriff returned the following list of Grand Jurors: Jesse Stark, Conrad Burns, Benjamin Hoffman, Jesse Mulhollen, Humphry Harris, Wilson Taylor, Thomas Lee, Joshua Taylor, John CaIdwell, Solomon Tucker, James Donnard, George Crutchfield, Eli Hadley, James Shields William Hadley, Samuel Scott, Sr., Thomas Reed and Isaiah Dressier. Stark, Mulhollen, Wilson Taylor, Caldwell, Donnard and Crutchfield were not present. Samuel Scott, Jr., and Richard Day were added to those present, and the Grand Jury thus constituted were sworn and directed to retire under the charge of Abraham Keedy, Bailiff. The first case at this session was William Cooley vs. Jesse Smith, trespass vi et armis. The plaintiff was given time to amend his declaration. The next case was the State of Indiana vs. Edward Applegate, recognizance to keep the peace. The defendant's attorneys moved to quash the indictment, but after a spirited discussion the motion was overruled, and Mr. Applegate was ordered to enter into bonds at $100 to keep the peace toward Gideon Wells. The next case was of the same nature, but William Pumroy was discharged from entering into bonds to keep the peace toward Brice Witcher, whose fears were declared to be groundless. Ten cases came before the court at this session, of the following character, in the order named: Assault and battery, recognizance to keep the peace, same, chancery, same, assault and battery, petition for divorce (Rachel Morrison vs. Thomas Morrison), covenant and assault and battery. Each Grand Juror was ordered paid 75 cents per day, and the bailiff the same. Christopher Ladd was granted a license to keep tavern at Port Royal. John Tiffany produced his commission as Coroner of the county, and Thomas L. Galpin, his as Sheriff. The Grand Jury returned the following “True Bills:” Against James Stotts, Sr., for assault and battery; against John L. Johnston and Joel Stroud for affray; against Larkin Johnson and Michael Dittemore for affray, and against George W. Preston for retailing liquor without a license. The court then adjourned.


    This was begun at the court house in Martinsville, on the 1st day of April, 1828, before Judge Wick, and John Gray and Jacob Cutler, Associate Judges. Cephus D. Morris, Harvey Gregg, John Adams, Breckenridge Smith, Bethuel F. Morris, Elkin Nayler and Isaac Nayler were admitted to practice law before the court. Thirty cases came before the court at this session, the greater number being for assault and battery. The Grand Jury returned eight “True Bills-” The first Petit Jury were summoned at this session to try the case of the State vs. G. W. Preston, for retaining liquor without a license. These men were Abner Cox, James Linn, Isaac D. Koffman, William Gregory, Henry Pence, Joseph Aulton, James Hadley, Thomas Reed, Jesse Booker, Larkin Reynolds, Humphrey Harris and William Townsend. The defendant was found guilty, and damages were fixed at $2 and costs of suits. The plaintiff moved an arrest or stay of judgment on such a verdict, which was granted, and he was discharged. John Stipp was appointed to fill a vacancy in the Board of Commissioners. Joshua Taylor was granted a license to keep tavern. J. A. Breckenridge was appointed Prosecuting Attorney, vice Fletcher, who was unwell. John Sims was granted a license to keep tavern in Martinsville.


    The October session, 1823, was held at the house of G. H. Beeler, Judges Wick, Gray and Cutler were present,  Edgar A. Wilson and Daniel Goodwin were admitted to the bar, and Christopher Ladd was licensed to keep tavern at Port Royal. In March, 1824, the court convened at the court house. Gabriel J. Johnson and Hiram Brown were admitted to the bar. In 1828, Edgar A. Wilson was admitted, also Daniel Goodwin; Hiram Burris in 1824; T. F. G. Adams, Michael G. Bright and Philip Sweetzer, 1824; James Braman, Andrew C. Griffith, W. W. Wick and Hiram Brown and Henry Hurst in 1825; Henry P. Coburn, James Forsee, Benjamin Bull and William Herrod in 1826; James Morrison in 1829; Tilman A. Howard in 1881; G. F. Waterman and W. O. Ross, 1882; Ovid Butler, 1835; John Hutchen and Mason Hulett in 1837; Harvey Brown, 1888; Henry Seacrest and Algernon S. Briggs, 1839.


    The first session of this court was begun at the house of George A. Preston on the 2d of May, 1822, before Jacob Cutler and John Gray, Associate Judges of the Circuit Court, who proceeded to appoint Jonathan Watkins as County Commissioner to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Larkin Reynolds. No other business was transacted at this session.
    At the September session, 1822, before the same Judges, the first business was the issuance of a citation against Edward Applegate, guardian of the infant heirs of Isaac Hollingsworth, deceased, commanding him to appear on a certain day to exhibit a true inventory of all the “goods and chattels, lands and tenements” of the deceased. Nancy Smith and John Reed were summoned as witnesses. This court was held at the house of Jacob Cutler. Nothing else was done until the 30th of September, when Mr. Applegate appeared and presented the following inventory of the goods, etc., of Hollingsworth, deceased:
    “Four promissory notes, aggregating $182.75; four head of horses, eight head of milk cows, two head of steers, one heifer, four yearlings, five calves’, feathers for two beds, three coverlids, five bed quilts, two sheets, nine delf plates, pewter plates, dishes and spoons, one earthen pitcher, one tin coffee pot, tea cups and saucers, one shovel plow and two hoes, a number of hogs, two metal pots, one drawer knife, one pigon and churn, one small wheel, two weaving slays, two bells, two empty barrels, one rifled gun, one dutch oven, two chairs, one man's saddle, seventy eight acres of land, one sieve, money on hand, $7, money collected from James Stills, $11.25; property sold to wit: 100 pounds of pork, 668 pounds of pork, one hog sold, two sows and pigs; property in Kentucky as follows: One milk cow, one wagon and gears, one bed and bedding, five counter-panes, three pillows, three sheets, one trunk, one pot, one pigon, one ax, one tin bucket, two pewter plates, one pewter basin, one chair; amounts due from two men, $5.50.
    This inventory is given in full that all may know what constituted the real and personal property of the old settlers., Joshua Taylor was an pointed administrator of Hollingsworth’s estate, and required to give bond in the sum of $1,000 for the faithful performance of his duty. Larkin Reynolds, Pressley Buckner and James Lang were appointed to appraise the estate. Mr. Applegate was to support the heirs, and have the use of the estate. This session was held at the house of G. H. Beeler in Martinsville.
    In March, 1823, Thomas L. Galpin and Thomas Sailors were granted testamentary letters as executors of the estate of Jacob Coss, deceased. His personal estate was valued at $916.12 1/2 And so the record goes on. Among the estates settled up within the next few years were those of Joseph M. Stotts, William Ballard, Isaac Overman, Conrad Burns, John Paul, Ira Ashton, Edward Warren, William Beeson, Elijah Knight, John Winter, Thomas Dickens, Robert Bradshaw, Ezra Wilcox, Thomas Deakin, Benjamin Pucket, James P. Vance and John Douglass. The first Probate Court held at the court house was in September, 1825. Probate business was done by the Associate Judges of the Circuit Court until 1829, at which time the first Probate Judge, John Matthews, took charge of the court. In 1853, the affairs of probate were merged into those of the Common Pleas Court, and in 1878 into the Circuit Court.


    This was held before William G. Turick, Judge, beginning on the 8th of April. 1858. The final settlement of the estate of John Sims, who had died in 1843, and whose affairs bad not yet been wound up, was the first business before this court. One amount of personal property was so great that the various inventories cover forty or fifty pages of the court records The Common Pleas, which included probate matters, was a separate court until 1878, when it was merged into the Circuit Court, and has thus remained until the present (1888).


    The first courts of Morgan County convened at the log house of Jacob Cutler, which stood about one block north of the northwest corner of the public square in Martinsville. In 1828, the work of erecting the first court house was begun, and in the autumn of 1824, the building was so nearly completed that courts convened there for the first time, as shown by the old court records. The building was a two storied hewed log house, and was located on the southwest corner of the present public square. The upper story was low, but little better than half a. story, and contained the jury rooms. The lower story was the court room. This room was also the first meeting house, schoolhouse, lecture room, etc., of Martinsville. The building was about 25x85 feet on the ground, and was compactly built. This building was used until 1833, when the contract of constructing a brick court house on the square was let to Gibe B. Mitchell for about $2,500. Mr. Mitchell was a practical brick maker and brick-layer, and completed the work in 1884; but the woodwork was not finished until about two years later. The County Board was compelled to issue “orders” for the greater portion of the contract price. These orders depreciated considerably in value, though they were current funds for all ordinary expenses in the county. The building was two storied, and was about 85 x 40 feet on the ground. It did not contain the county offices. These were in business or private buildings until about 1843, when small offices were erected on the square. About 1855. this building was so dilapidated and unsightly that a new court house began to be talked of. The Gazette of  March, 1856. having in view the incorporation of Martinsville, then strongly talked of, as well as the erection of a new court house, remarked as follows: “The old court house, with its crumbling foundation, cracked walls, diseased windows, shattered vane, drooping spire and moss covered cupola, looking, as Judge Hughes remarked from the bench at the last Circuit Court, ‘like some bombarded block-house,’ overlooks one vast sea of conglomerated water, mud and filth.” The necessary pressure was brought to bear on the County Board, and in March, 1857, orders were issued for advertising for bids to erect either a combined courthouse and jail, or each to be built separately, the total cost not to exceed $30,000. The contract was finally awarded to Perry M. Blankenship at about that price, the jail and court house to be built together. County bonds were ordered sold to meet the expense. The building was completed in 1859 at a cost of about $82,000. This is the present court house and jail. The court room is above, and offices below; the jail is in the northwest corner of the lower story, and the belfry is on the southeast corner. The hall extends through the building from north to south. The contractor evidently did his work well, as the structure is now almost or quite as good as new- On the 31st of March, 1876, the records of the county in the offices of the Clerk and Auditor were largely consumed by fire, supposed to have been done by some rascally official, to conceal the evidences of his defalcations or other crimes. This was a great calamity, and cost the county many thousands of dollars to copy what remained of the half consumed records. Had the old records not been destroyed, this chapter might contain many items of interest which it now wants.


    The first jail was a small log structure, which was erected on the northeast corner of the square in 1824. It was built of heavy timber, and answered the purposes of the county until 1826, when it was destroyed by fire. Within three or four years, a brick jail was built about where the jailer’s house now is on the square by Mr. Sailors. The outside of the structure was of brick, the inside of heavy logs, and between the two walls were about eight inches of broken stone. This was used about ten years, when a much stronger log jail was builc in the northeastern part of town. This was used until the erection of the present combined jail and court house in 1857—59.


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