I ran across this Gimpses of Life article, by Homer Butler, written about 1965 that details some specifics of the old Williamson County Court House that I was unaware of. There was a photo attached that was taken in the summer of 1889 showing its construction but is unusable in its copied form. I am looking for it, believe me. It was provided by Altha Perry, then a Bank of Marion employee and daughter of M.J. Perry. Perry was a deputy sheriff when the building was constructed. When and if it is found, I will attach it to this post. If you know of a Perry descendant let me know please.
“Brick for the walls of the court house were made from local clay. Sandstones for the 30 inch thick basement walls were hauled by wagon from Alum Cave southwest of Marion (Little Grassy Road).
Visible in the picture, inside the partially complete structure, is the south wall of the present county clerk’s vault room, one of two concrete walled, fire proof vaults, extending from the basement floor to the floor of the second story, which contain permanent county records dating back to the county’s origin in 1839.
When the court house was built it did not have the present clock which was installed on top in 1907. It also lacked the four small one story rooms at each corner which were added during a WPA renovation project in 1938.
The contrast in the color of the weather beaten brick of the original structure and that of the brick in the new additions influenced the county board to paint the entire building white. It remained white, or as nearly white as weather and accumulated dirt permitted, until 1962 when the entire surface was sandblasted and returned to something like its original appearance.
Beginning in 1865 and continuing to 1902, a tree planting program sponsored by prominent business and professional men of Marion manifested the pride of the community in beautification of the area around the court house. A detailed plat of the court house lawn, designating the location of 30 or more trees, naming the variety of trees and identifying the donor, is on file in the county’s permanent land records.
For many years, the court house and the lawn adjacent to it were enclosed by an iron picket fence. The fence was taken down in 1916. It was purchased by Arlie Doran and still stands around the lawn of Doran’s home between Marion and Creal Springs. (This home is directly across from the new Adams School).
There were more reasons other than ornamental for enclosing the court house area with an iron fence. Such a barrier provided protection for the grounds and the trees planted there, for in the early days of the court house, the Public Square was unpaved and livestock was a menace to any attempts at beautification of the premises. Horses of county visitors were tethered around the building.
Another situation became such a nuisance in the early years of the century that the City Council passed an ordinance prohibiting the owners of hogs from allowing their animals to wallow in water filled depressions of the Public Square.
Until the square was paved, the court house was an island in a veritable sea of mud in rainy weather, reached by pedestrians across a series of stones placed at intervals between the county building and the rim of the Square.
In the early 1900’s, the trip across the Public Square also entailed crossing the tracks of the Coal Belt Electric Line which came up West Main Street around the Square and went north on North Market Street.
Even for several years after the paving of the Square about 1909, the streets leading from the Square remained unpaved, and the stones which were spaced across the streets so that vehicle wheels could pass between them were still used for pedestrian crossing.
Agitation for a new court house began when the present building was a little more than 30 years old. The Daily Republican advocated a new building early in 1922. The Johnston City Progress joined in the campaign, an editorial referred to the county building as a public “eye sore”. When the proposal for a new building was referred to the voters that year it was voted down.
The voter’s attitude had a parallel in 1876 after the old court house on the southeast corner of the Square burned in 1875. The voters rejected plans for a new building and the county was without a court house except for rented space for 14 years.
In the 75 years that the present court house has symbolized a segment of the republic governing itself, levying and collecting taxes, operating law enforcement machinery, settling disputes and meting out justice, representatives of the citizenry serving as jurors have voted the death penalty for five men convicted of murder. Many hundreds have been imprisoned.
The court house was the scene of heated controversy during the Ku Klux Klan difficulties of 1923-24. At one time it served as barracks for the National Guardsmen quartered here to keep order in the county. The prohibition era and its attendant gangster regime crowded trial calendars and filled the court rooms.
Hundreds of foreign born residents of the county made the visit to the court house to swear allegiance to their adopted country and received their certificates of citizenship there.
From its beginning, the court house has been a place for public meetings. Every major party nominee for governor and United States senator and scores of candidates for lesser offices have spoken at political rallies there.
The court house has also been the rallying point for crowds to hear Theodore Roosevelt, William Jennings Bryan, John F. Kennedy, Harry S. Truman, Robert Taft and Harold Strassen.
(Glimpses of Life by Homer Butler, written about 1965 when the new court house was planned but not built)