An ‘architectural marvel’
Community celebrate[d] 100th anniversary of Hancock County Courthouse
CARTHAGE —
An “architectural marvel” from the pages of Hancock County history will be the heart of an anniversary celebration.
Residents will gather Saturday to mark the 100th anniversary of the Hancock County Courthouse, the third constructed in county history.
Standing three stories high in the center of downtown Carthage, the structure has survived fire, trial and storm to remain one of the area’s most unique and beautiful courthouses. Many features original to the 1908 structure still remain, including tiny hand-laid tile floors, marble stairs untouched by time and several art glass works on the ceilings and walls.
Walking up or down the building’s east stairs, visitors are greeted by a glass depi
ction of Lady Justice. She also stands atop the courthouse’s exterior dome, holding the scales of justice.
The faces on the four clocks in the clock tower were fake until the local Kiwanis club replaced them in the 1980s. The building’s original plans called for clocks, but builders didn’t want to go over budget for the construction by paying the $2,000 needed to add them.
Anniversary event co-chairwoman Kris Pilkington also serves as the county’s treasurer. She and 17 other committee members have been meeting for more than a year to organize the anniversary events.
She said Hancock County’s history has included three courthouses, the first an 1830s log cabin on the south side of the square and the second a smaller building on the current site. The current building was dedicated Oct. 20, 1908.
“A quote in the Hancock County Republican called the courthouse an ‘architectural marvel,’ ” Pilkington said. “The building had indoor plumbing and electricity from day one, which was almost unheard of.”
The finished building had 17 restrooms, one in each office and one public restroom. Pilkington said the front of the Hancock County Courthouse faces south but the reason for that is open to debate.
“There’s one speculation that the south side of the square was more prominent in the 1900s; the hotel was there and it was more developed,” she said. “The second idea is that it looks to the south because of the defeat of the South in the Civil War, but I hope that’s not the case.”
Over time modern adjustments were made to the building such as air conditioning and adding computer wiring. Pilkington said care was taken to hide the impact of those modernizations.
Some courthouse artifacts are typically on display at the Kibbe Museum in Carthage, but many will be brought back for the anniversary event.
Attempts were made to free the building’s cornerstone on its northeast side to reveal a time capsule believed to be hidden behind it. But those efforts were unsuccessful when the capsule couldn’t be reached, despite using an available copy of the building’s original blueprints.
Organizers said a new time capsule will be planted as part of Saturday’s celebration. It will include information supplied by each of the county’s townships.
Pilkington said two books have been compiled to mark the 100th anniversary and are being sold to help pay for the celebration’s expenses. Both include drawings by Havana artist David Alan Badger, who will be signing copies.
Saturday’s events also include tours of the courthouse by guides in period costumes, a parade and a historical program. The grand marshals of the parade are nine Hancock County residents who are at least 100 years old, and the program will include an address by retired Circuit Judge Max B. Stewart.
Pilkington said so many pieces of the courthouse’s history were learned through planning the event, and she hopes local residents take the chance to mark its anniversary.
“How many times are you alive at the right time to celebrate something like this?” she said.
J.C. 
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