Court house faces

The Jasper County Historical Society has as its mystery photo this week a picture of a stone face. I recognized it as part of the Court House, but was not sure where it was. My initial guess was that it was around what was once the main entrance on the Washington Street side of the Court House. In addition to the gargoyles, there are two faces in the decorative trim.

Below are close-ups of the two faces on either side of this entrance (which is no longer an entrance).

They are stone faces, but not the right stone faces.

The mystery picture shows decoration around the Van Rensselaer entrance, which is now only used by Court House personnel.

Below are close ups of these two faces.

Here is the Historical Society's picture of the face above.

The Harrison Street entrance also has elaborate decoration around it, but no faces. The Cullen Street entrance is unadorned but is now the only entrance for the public. It was probably made the public entrance because it is the only one without steps.