COUNTY CELEBRATES NEW COURTHOUSE

Three days of celebration surrounded the dedication of the new County Court House in Jackson in September 1908, but the celebration came after years of controversy in the construction of the building.

The courthouse stands in the center of Jackson's square and houses the county's circuit courts.

That three-day celebration in 1908 was the predecessor of Jackson's annual Homecomers Celebration, still held on the square.

At the dedication ceremony, at 3 p.m. Sept. 25, 1908, a "good crowd witnessed the ceremonies." Bands played and politicians spoke. "The building, which had been locked up, was then opened to the public and was viewed by a large number of visitors," the Southeast Missourian reported on its front page.

Just three months earlier, county politicians had dickered over the cost of the new building. The total cost was $79,585.90, considerably higher than the original contract price of $66,727. However, the contractor had presented a bill of more than $87,000. The two compromised.

The Southeast Missourian reported on July 3, 1908, "After disagreement, understanding, compromise and denial in consideration of many claims for extra payment made by the contractors in building the new courthouse at the county seat, an amicable agreement was reached Wednesday afternoon whereby the county came into possession of the building.

The drive to build a courthouse started in 1905 with petitions asking for a special election to test the feelings of voters in the county about issuing $75,000 worth of bonds. The question was approved, and bonds for the new structure were issued March 1, 1906.

Construction began in June 1906, and according William B. Craig, who worked on the project, it finished in early 1908. Craig wrote an account of the courthouse construction, which was published in 1969.

"The first story of the courthouse we built in Jackson was blue limestone quarried near Jackson and hand cut on the site," Craig wrote.

"The white stone of the second and third stories was quarried at Cape Girardeau near the old Normal School. It was delivered by wagon in large slabs four inches thick and cut to size on the site," he wrote.

"One winter was spent in a lean-to shed against an old brick two-story building that stood on the northeast corner of the courtyard, cutting the stone to size and storing it until spring for installing in the present building. Some of the slabs of stone were as large as 10-feet-square and four inches thick."

Brick for the building came from the Kasten Brick Co. at Jackson.

Before the courthouse was constructed, a brick building housed the county courts. It had been built in 1873. For nearly two years, the two courthouses -- one stone and one brick -- stood side by side in the Jackson square. In 1909, the county awarded a $900 contract to demolish the old building.

The courthouse has had its defects over the years. Falling plaster in several rooms from water seepage necessitated a new roof in 1923.

The four-faced clock didn't work properly at first and had to be replaced. Plumbing and heating units caused problems and also had to be replaced.

Inside, the building has been remodeled and revamped often over the years, but the outside of the building remains very similar to its original appearance 90 years ago.