Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
JASPER – The newly revitalized courthouse square in Jasper opened less than a month ago and already it’s bringing an influx of visitors and shoppers to the downtown.
“We’ve had a lot of people coming from far away just to look at it and they are pleasantly surprised,” said Jim Siebert, third-generation owner of Siebert’s Clothing on Jasper’s Main Street. “We had a couple from Cincinnati stop in who had never been to Jasper.”
The City of Jasper will celebrate the newly revitalized courthouse square with a ribbon cutting at 5 p.m. Friday.
The event marks the conclusion of a year-long comprehensive project that addressed infrastructure needs including roads and upgrades to water, sewer, gas and stormwater drainage. ADA accessibility and compliance with state of Indiana regulations for crosswalks were also critical factors in the project.
Improving the downtown was another focus of the project. Philanthropic support enhanced the effort with $1.25 million raised by local donors to create four unique gathering spaces in each corner of the square. The four quadrants offer areas for people to gather and socialize in the downtown area including a fire pit, wooden bench sitting area, swings and outdoor café style seating. The redesign is a mix of new amenities while preserving the older and historic assets of the community.
Broc Litherland owns American Mercantile, a men’s clothing store at 533 Main St.
“The square itself looks beautiful. I’m impressed with everything the city and Heart of Jasper are doing. They are doing their best to generate a lot of traffic to the square and we’re already seeing that happen and it’s wonderful,” said Litherland. “There’s definitely been a lot of people walking around downtown ever since they opened the square.”
Revitalizing Jasper’s downtown is vital to economic growth and creating a supportive business environment for small business owners.
“We hope the community will join us in commemorating this milestone in our city’s progress,” said Mayor Dean Vonderheide. “This is truly a giant step forward and cause for celebration.”
Siebert’s Clothing has been a downtown Jasper mainstay for more than a century. Founded by Siebert’s grandfather in 1922, Jim Siebert said now is an exciting time to be downtown.
“I’m looking forward to the event,” he said of the ribbon cutting. “The downtown is more pedestrian-friendly and it’s bringing in more people.”
It’s a good time to be in downtown Jasper. For Litherland, who opened American Mercantile in 2022, the store was never going to be anywhere else.
“I knew if I was going to open a store, I wanted to be on the square because the traffic is here and we will only see an increase in that with the improvements,” he said. “We get so many people who are visiting French Lick and West Baden because they hear about our restaurants and how lovely the square is.”
Ribbon cutting details
The ribbon cutting will take place on the west side of the Dubois County Courthouse and will include a short performance from Jasper High School’s marching band. Handicap accessible parking is available at the parking lot next to City Hall.