The Copper Fish

The Copper Fish that sits atop the Monroe County Courthouse was created in 1826 by Austin Seward. Speculation abounds as to why a fish was placed atop the courthouse of a landlocked county, decades before the construction of nearby Monroe Lake. The fish itself was created by Austin Seward, who settled in Bloomington around 1820. The fish is more than three feet long, made of copper and was first covered in gold leaf in the 1820’s. The fish was later re-gilded in the 1950’s.