Old Lake County Indiana courthouse readies 135th birthday

CROWN POINT, Ind. — Astronaut Jerry Ross will return to his northwestern Indiana hometown of Crown Point this month to help commemorate the 135th birthday of the Old Lake County Courthouse.

The public is invited to the celebration at the courthouse on the downtown square on Sept. 22.

The red brick building combining Romanesque and Georgian architectural styles was built in 1878. It now houses shops, businesses and a vintage courtroom occupied by the Crown Point City Court.

The (Munster) Times reports (http://bit.ly/17AhMfr) as many as 170,000 marriages were performed in Crown Point between 1915 and 1940 when couples flocked there to take advantage of Lake County not having a wedding license waiting period.

Ross retired in 2012 as a NASA astronaut after flying on seven Space Shuttle missions.