FAYETTEVILLE — Renovation is continuing on the Historic Washington County Courthouse, revealing long-hidden parts of its architecture and a mysterious collection of bottles.
“It’s going ahead of schedule. It’s awesome. It is breathtaking. It looks even better than I imagined,” said Circuit Judge Mary Ann Gunn, the only judge whose courtroom is in the 104-year-old downtown Fayetteville icon. “The history just screams at you when you walk through the doors.”
Chambers on the third floor are being transformed from two courtrooms to one, giving Gunn a much larger space reminiscent of courtroom scenes in the movie version of Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The extra space will come in handy on drug court days when the courtroom is often standing room only. Partitions and walls were knocked down, including a wall covering a spectator balcony that looks out over the courtroom from the south end.
The large courtroom dates back to an era when local trials sometimes become community events, needing large spectator galleries as townspeople watched the drama unfold. Years ago, the county needed an additional courtroom, so the main courtroom was split up, creating a smaller chancery courtroom on the north end while the remaining space went to the sitting circuit judge.
That work is now being undone. A partition behind Gunn’s bench, which hid a hallway that allowed the judge and other staff to enter the courtroom, is gone, creating one big courtroom again. The bench and its surroundings will now be pushed back almost to the north wall. The floor still slopes from front to back to allow spectators a better angle to see and hear the proceedings.
Modern dropped ceilings added a few years ago awkwardly cut off views of the grand windows in the courtroom. They’re now gone, letting in abundant light and revealing the high old ceiling and balcony. An ornate, pressed tin ceiling like the original has been installed.
“I was surprised at the magnitude of the room. It was just huge once the demolition was done,” Gunn said. “It’ll just take your breath away.”
The structure's interior is being restored as close as possible to the original 1905 plans. Where once walls were bare and electrical wires stuck out, there’s new plaster and paint going up and behind it, up-to-date electrical and mechanical systems are now in place, said Ron Wood, Washington County’s building and maintenance supervisor. Work continues on digging the building’s elevator shaft deeper to accept new hydraulics.
“Some of the most important and expensive stuff, you can’t see,” County Judge Marilyn Edwards said.
The tile floors are also being preserved. They were protected by sheets of plywood during the demolition phase. Officials wanted to save as much of the circle-patterned tile as possible because finding the same kind used a century ago is difficult and expensive.
Work is continuing on refinishing and replacing the original woodwork.
“I’m just thrilled. I’m so excited we got it renovated,” Edwards said. “I grew up in that building.”
Edwards said she worked in the old courthouse for about 30 years and, as county clerk, was one of the last to move out after the county bought a former savings and loan building at Dickson Street and College Avenue to be the new courthouse.
The interior renovation’s cost is about $4.5 million and the project is staying within budget, Edwards and Wood said. The interior renovation is about 60 percent complete and is expected to be done in the summer.
The courthouse's renovation is contracted to Milestone Construction of Springdale
The county spent $20,842 to remove asbestos in March. The building's exterior was restored for about $900,000 in 2007.
“It’s majestic, both inside and out. It’s just perfect,” Gunn said. “I’m just so proud of our county for preserving that building and renovating it.”
The old courthouse may be a Fayetteville landmark, but it’s also of great historical importance to the state.
“I think that courthouse is going to be something that anyone in Arkansas can be proud of,” Edwards said.
Gunn’s court, along with the Drug Court program, moved temporarily to the county's judicial annex at Spring Street and College Avenue. Gunn plans to move back into the old courthouse when repairs are complete. The courtroom built in the judicial annex will likely house the person elected to a new judgeship created by the state Legislature to start in 2011.
The Washington County Archives and U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln’s office will join Gunn in the old courthouse. It’s likely some other county offices will be housed there and there may be some space available for lease, Edwards said.
Most of the county government relocated in the 1980s to the new courthouse at College and Dickson. Others went to the county’s south campus, site of the road department, jail and juvenile detention center.
When renovating old buildings, there are always a few surprises — often bad and expensive. But, the courthouse renovation has gone more smoothly than expected and the surprises have mostly been “like looking for gold,” said project superintendent Richard Merrill.
Washington County Archivist Tony Wappel has a collection of items found during the renovation, including Lucky Strike and Camel cigarette packs, tobacco tins and sacks, gum wrappers, a box of .22-caliber shells, copies of driver’s licenses from 1937, a check that was never cashed, an insect powder tin, an original slate tile from the building’s roof, letters, a civil defense poster, a small metal lamp shade, old advertising materials and a campaign brochure for a legless man named Earl Page.
Then there are the vanilla bottles.
Most of the 20 bottles still have their original corks. One has a screw cap. They were found, along with a Bradley Club whiskey bottle, wrapped in period newspapers and placed between the floor joists on the fourth floor. No one’s sure who put them there or why. The vanilla contained 50 percent alcohol, according to the labels.
“It was someone who worked there a long time and was very well acquainted with the building,” Gunn said. “I suspect they nipped it during the day.”
AT A GLANCE
Courthouse History, Trivia
- Construction on the four-story courthouse, of Richardsonian Romanesque style, began in July 1904 and was completed in April 1905. Total cost was $98,500.
- The courthouse was designed by Charles L. Thompson, one of the state’s best-known architects. The contractor was George Donaghey, who was later elected governor.
- In 1972, the courthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- The courthouse is the county’s fifth. The other four were on or near the site of the Old Post Office on the downtown square. There was once a Butterfield Stage Coach stop just north of the courthouse.
- Each of the offices were once heated with coal-burning fireplaces featuring glazed brick facades.
- The courthouse is located at 4 S. College Ave. College has been closed two times over the years, once for the courthouse’s grand opening and again for the centennial celebration.
- The city of Fayetteville maintained offices in the courthouse until 1927. The first floor housed the mayor’s office, city clerk, police court, water department and the library.
- The second floor once housed the circuit and county clerk’s offices. Vaults on the floor have 20-inch thick brick walls. Ironically, they originally had windows. The Washington County Archives now occupies the space.
- On Oct. 10, 1975, Deputy Clerk Marilyn Edwards issued a marriage license to William Jefferson Clinton and Hillary Diane Rodham at the County Clerk’s Office in the courthouse.
- The grand courtroom was split in 1948: The smaller courtroom went to Chancellor Thomas Butt, who began his 50 years on the bench there. The balcony was also closed off.
- The bell tower, bell and clock are reached by a narrow stairway from the fourth floor.
Source: Staff Report