MERCER COUNTY
COURTHOUSE HISTORY
1837 - 2008
PRINCETON, WEST VIRGINIA
COURTHOUSE HISTORY
When
Federal District Judge Nathaniel Harrison rode into Princeton in the
fall of 1865 to take charge of the counties of Mercer, Monroe, and
Greenbrier, no one recognized him; no one spoke to him, for he was
known in southern West Virginia as a Confederate turncoat. He brought
with him a lawyer named Major Cyrus Newlin.
Following the cool reception in Princeton, Judge Harrison turned his
horse in the direction of Concord Church and established the county seat
there. Then followed a five year struggle with much violence between
Concord Church and Princeton over the location of the county seat.
Princeton won an election in 1870 which stopped the shifting of court
records between Concord Church and Princeton.
Feelings remained bitter in Plymouth District and particularly at
Concord Church over the removal of the court. To alleviate this
condition, Major Reynolds of Princeton, a member of the West Virginia
Legislature in 1873, fostered a successful bill creating a state school
at Concord Church, now Athens, W.Va., named Concord State Normal School.
After this Courthouse agitation ended in favor of Princeton, a new
courthouse was completed in 1874 which was, however, destroyed by fire
in 1875. A brick courthouse was constructed in 1876 and was altered and
re-modeled throughout the years, until it was torn down in 1930. The
present courthouse was erected in 1931 at a cost of $400,000.
With the rise of Bluefield and the poor facilities Princeton for lodging
and food, a second effort was made to change the courthouse site, this
time to Bluefield. The effort failed; and to appease the people of
Bluefield, Senator William M. Mahood introduced a bill in the
Legislature in 1895 to establish Bluefield Colored Institute. The
measure carried and the school was opened December 1,1896. It is now
Bluefield State College. Finally an election was held in 1907. Princeton
won and the courthouse was settled in Princeton for good.
John Maxey
Court Houses
Mercer County has the distinction of having had more court houses than
any other county in the state. The sixth and last court house was
completed in 1931, six years before the county celebrated its
centennial.
The first court was held in the home of James Calfee, one of the
eighteen justices of the peace. Moses E. Kerr was elected clerk of the
court and was authorized to keep the papers and records of the court at
his house until notified otherwise. A man named Ledbetter built the
first court house in 1839 on the land donated for the public square by
Captain William Smith. The court house was entered by a stairway leading
from the street. The sheriff opened court by standing on the landing of
the stairway and blowing upon a ram's horn.
The first court house was evidently poorly constructed because in 1840,
one year after it was built, it was torn down and rebuilt on the same
site. On August 11, 1841, William H. Howe, James Rowland, and Henderson
Burnside presented plans and proposals for the fencing of the grounds.
Eleven years later, W.G. Bottimore was hired to examine the court house.
In September of 1852, court had to be held in the Baptist Church because
the court house was in no condition for a meeting.
Much work was done on the building and the grounds in the late 1850's.
In June 1857, Daniel W. Martin fixed the gates of the court house yard
and was paid thirty dollars for the job at the December meeting. Six
months later, Opie Staite was paid for rope for the court house bell.
Also in June of 1858, Granville H. Ashworth was appointed commissioner
in charge of the court house and other property on the public square. He
was allowed ten dollars per year for his services. In the fall of 1858,
a new roof was put on the building. Elijah Bailey was authorized to
sell the lead that was taken off the old roof at five cents a pound "if
sold privately." In November of the same year Alexander Mahood erected a
water closet on the public square for the use of the court.
Various groups in the county used the rooms in the court house for
meetings. In July of 1849, the court authorized the use of either room
on the second floor for the meetings of the Princeton Division of the
Sons of Temperance No. 225. The Sons had to keep the room in order and
in good condition. In February of 1857, the court gave William H.
Heptinstall permission for the Brush Creek Division of the Sons of
Temperance No. 389 to meet in one of the upper rooms of the court house
as long as the Sons paid one dollar per month for the use of the room.
Two years later, the Brush Creek Division donated a stove for the second
story in lieu of rent due.
The second court house was used until May 1, 1862, when it was destroyed
by the Confederate troops stationed in Princeton. Colonel Walter H.
Jenifer had some provisions for the troops stored in the court house;
and upon hearing of the defeat of the Confederates in the battle at the
Clark House about seven miles north of Princeton, he ordered Princeton
burned to prevent the advancing Federal troops from getting the
supplies. Everything in the court house was destroyed except a few
records which were saved by George Hall, a colored man. During the
remaining years of the War, there was no attempt to rebuild the court
house.
In the fall of 1865, Judge Nathaniel Harrison, who had been recently
appointed Circuit Judge, rode into Princeton to hold court. Harrison,
who had deserted the southern cause for political gain, took offense at
the cool reception he received from the prosouthern residents of
Princeton. He, therefore, rode over to Concord Church where he held
court in the log church, built about 1858 near the site of the present
Athens Methodist Church.
The people of Concord Church were eager to have the county seat located
in their community. At the urging of Harrison, they began agitating for
the removal of the county seat to Concord Church. For five years the
county was embroiled in disputes over the location of the county seat.
In May 1866, the Board of Supervisors were ordered to "make provision
for furnishing sufficient rooms at Concord, Clerk's and Recorder's
offices ... accommodations for grand jury, where records of the county
should be kept until the court house and other public buildings are
definitely located and built." In 1867, Thomas Little, delegate to the
Legislature, secured the passage of an act locating the court house in
Princeton, but this act was repealed in 1868 through the efforts of
George Evans, the new delegate who sided with the people at Concord
Church and those in the northeastern part of the county which at that
lime included a part of what is now Summers County.
William Henderson French donated land for the new court house and jail
which were built in the vicinity of the parking lot on the north side of
the present Bank of Athens. Evans, who was awarded the contract for the
two buildings, constructed the wooden jail first. In 1869, he began the
brick court house. After laying the brick work up to the second story,
he stopped. He changed his sentiment late in 1869 and joined the forces
fighting to have the county seat located in Princeton. He assisted the
Princetonians led by Ben White and others in removing the records to
Princeton and in making plans for an election to settle the court house
issue. The election held in October of 1870 resulted in the county seat
being moved back to Princeton. The third court house, costing several
thousand dollars, was left unfinished and the land reverted to French.
The court had the fourth court house erected on the same site as the
first two buildings. It was built by Andrew Fillinger. In May of 1873,
the court entertained a request for rope carpeting for the lower and
upper floors and for the stair steps of the new court house. The court
also heard two other requests: "to lower the railing of the banister of
the judge's bench about one foot" and to have a public privy built "with
urinals and seats so constructed that persons can not get on the seats
with their feet." The fourth court house was destroyed by fire in 1875.
In October of 1875, the court ordered all courts to be held in the
building on the Pearis Tanyard property occupied by John C. Darst until
the court house was rebuilt. Darst was paid forty-one dollars and fifty
cents for the use of the tanyard building.
The fifth court house was a square brick structure built by D.W.
McClaughterty in 1876. The first floor contained the court rooms while
the second housed the offices. In 1878, R.C. McClaugherty, prosecuting
attorney, was authorized to use a room in the southeast corner as his
office. This room was also used as a jury room at times.
An addition made in 1888 by John C. Darst, a local contractor, provided
offices on the first floor and a court room on the second. Another
addition was built in 1909 by the Witt Brothers, contractors from
Bramwell. This building with its jail to the side served the county
until 1930, when it was torn down and replaced in 1931 with the present
court house, costing $400,000.
The sixth court house, built through a bond issue voted by the citizens
of the county in 1929, was dedicated on August 31, 1931. The Indiana
limestone structure, four stories high, was designed by Alex B. Mahood
of Bluefield. The stone carving in the frieze at each end of building
represents the economic history of the county.
The office of the jailor and the jail kitchen are located on the first
floor. Three vaults for records and offices of the county clerk, the
circuit clerk, assessor, and sheriff are found on the second floor, the
main floor of the building which may be entered from all four sides. A
wide hall leads from each entrance to a central corridor. For a number
of years after the court house was built, the offices for the
superintendent of school, the agriculture agent, and the home
demonstration agent were located on the main floor. Criminal and circuit
court rooms, jury rooms, private offices for the judges, office of the
prosecuting attorney, and the court reporter room are located on the
third floor.
The main contract for the building of the present court house was
awarded to a Bluefield firm composed of G.V. Boone, Wallace Eason, and
S.A. Wood. The sub-contract for roofing went to Woodrum Company,
managed by W.C. Kane, who had roofed the fifth
court house in 1908. The sub-contract for heating and plumbing was
awarded to J. Douglas Barger and Harry Barger of the Barger Heating and
Plumbing Company. The sub-contract for painting was given to Berman C.
Snidow. The sixth court house is one of West Virginia's finest court
houses.
Margaret Ann Scott
MERCER COUNTY HISTORICAL
SOCIETY, INC.
P. O. BOX 5012 PRINCETON,
WEST VIRGINIA 24740