The Jasper County Courthouse is the architectural and civic heart of Rensselaer — a Richardsonian Romanesque pile of rough-cut limestone with a tall central tower, completed in 1898 and still in use as the working county court. The architect Alfred Grindle designed several similar courthouses across Indiana but this is one of the more handsome survivors.
The building stands in a small park-like square, surrounded by mature trees and a ring of two- and three-storey commercial buildings. The interior — open during business hours — has the original mosaic tile floor, oak woodwork, and a sweeping double staircase.