A History of the Hancock County Courthouse

I have, for years, wondered when exactly our courthouse was built and under what circumstances. The Hancock Clarion has had a number of stories and photos of the courthouse over the years.

I was told by someone the construction of the courthouse was started before the Civil War and finished after the war. That was not correct.

One of the most interesting things in the following Lee Dew’s article is how the Civil War affected Hawesville. It was shocking how much damage it did to the commerce here, plus the dramatic loss of the population.

This is quite lengthy, but if the reader is really interested in Hancock County, I would advise to read all of the narrative.

This information was compiled by Lee Dew, Professor of History at Kentucky Wesleyan College. I knew Professor Dew and felt he was very competent in researching our history.

Following is, in my opinion, the most interesting information in Professor Dew’s booklet:

“Hancock’s Shrine A History of the Hancock County Courthouse.”

Hancock County was first listed in the United States Census in 1830, the year that the Louisville and Portland canal was opened at the Falls of the Ohio, and the county boasted a total population of 1,505 persons.

A decade later, thanks in large part to the growing number of flatboats and steamboats transiting the Ohio as a result of the elimination of the navigation hazard of the falls at Louisville, the county’s population swelled to 2,581.

Hawesville, established by the enabling act creating the county, grew rapidly counting 420 citizens by 1840. Hawesville was blessed by its location on the Ohio River, and it possessed a gently sloping bank making for easy landings by steamboats and flatboats coming down the river, past Jeffrey’s Cliffs and the wide sweeping bend around Skillman Bottoms. Hawesville was located on the “deep” side of the river, which meant that there was always an adequate depth of water for navigation.

Hawesville, as the county seat of bustling, thriving Hancock County, grew and prospered. Between 1840 and 1860 it nearly tripled in size from 420 to 1,128 persons.

Hancock County’s Landmark Courthouse
Built in 1867, this beautiful building must have been a sight to see as the steamboats of that era came by or docked at the shores in Hawesville. In 1975 it was refurbished to its original brick as it, at that time, was painted and unsightly. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places that year as well. Before the county annex it was the center of activity as it housed the Sheriff’s office, County Attorney, County Clerk, Circuit Clerk, County Judge/Executive and Tax Assessor. Upstairs was the Court room and room for the Judge’s Chambers, School Superintendent and the Jury room. Third floor (attic room): Masonic lodge, and Odd fellows. Really crowded!

The Courthouse

Yet, even in the darkest days of the war, the dream of a new courthouse remained, and people became convinced that the project was a good idea.

Hawesville and Hancock County were determined to build the new building as a symbol of hope – that the community and the county would not only survive the trauma of the war but would emerge stronger and more vibrant than ever.

County Judge William Penn Baker immediately appointed a building committee, consisting of himself, Stephen Powers, and Green Sterett, who on March 25, 1867, reported to the County Court that they recommended approval of a proposal by the architectural firm of Robert Boyd, Evansville, IN.

Money, however, was scarce in wartime Hawesville and Hancock County. The disruption of trade and traditional markets, the closing of the Hawesville mines, and the continuing guerrilla activity meant that for many the war brought about a diminished standard of living. Most farmers and townspeople alike were eek-ing out a subsistence living on what they could raise, kill, or catch supplemented with what they might barter for with their neighbors. It seemed an inauspicious time to attempt a major fund-raising project.

War hurts Hawesville

Hawesville, especially, had been hurt by the war. Although between 1860 and 1870 Hancock County’s population grew slightly, from 6,214 to 6,591, the population of Hawesville dropped dramatically. From a population in 1860 of 1,128 the Census of 1870 counted only 855 residents ten years later. Although there was no way of knowing, it is probable that much of this population loss occurred during the war with the destruction of the mines, leaving the unemployed miners to seek work elsewhere.

Yet, even with these hardships, Hawesville was so committed to the idea of a new courthouse that the town donated $1,000 “toward the building of a courthouse in the town of Hawesville as contemplated.”

The firm of Robert Boyd of Evansville had been contracted earlier to draw up a set of plans and specifications for a building to cost no more than $10,000, and presented the plan to the October term of the Court in 1866.

The Committee reported that they were satisfied with the plans presented by the architects, but had not agreed to a contract because the County Court had not yet levied the tax to raise the necessary money. They also reported that the “appropriation of $10,000 is not sufficient to build a Courthouse according to said plan and specifications.” “In our judgment it will require an additional appropriation of something near $5,000 to build a … Courthouse according to said plan,” the group declared.

Work begins

By the spring of 1867 Boyd wrote to the (building) committee that he could construct the building for the sum of $14,975. The committee agreed and Boyd and his workers began immediately in the construction of the building, first excavating the necessary footings, and began constructing the “basework” of the foundations.

Soon the courthouse square was bustling with activity and sweating men loaded rock into horse-drawn wagons to be taken away from the site and be dumped, while other wagons arrived with loads of sand, cement and rock for the construction of the foundation walls.

Much of the site preparation work probably employed Hancock County workers, since the tasks involved in preparing the footings and subgrades for the building were little different than those which many men were accustomed to in the mines.

Farmers who owned wagons and teams found a source of ready money in hiring themselves and their equipment to the contractor to do the haulage of spoil and materials, while merchants, saloon-keepers and other business people found a share of the construction wages in their pockets as well.

Bricks fired from hill behind courthouse

The bricks were fired, according to local tradition, from clay dug from the side of the hill behind the courthouse site. The bricks had to be handled with special care.

The masons soon finished with the foundation work, and the walls began to rise. Carpenters built wooden scaffolds upon which the masons could work as the walls grew higher, and scurrying helpers kept the masons supplied with bricks. Other helpers carried hods of mortar from the mixing plans to the scaffolds, so a constant supply of freshly-mixed mortar of just the right consistency was available for the flashing trowels of these skilled workmen. The carpenters, meanwhile, were busy laying floor joists and constructing building frames for the window opening as the masons proceeded with their task.

The building rapidly took shape, and by the late summer it had assumed a recognizable dimension.

It was a constant source of wonder to townspeople and country folk alike, and the trees around the square were frequently surrounded by Hancock Countians standing in the shade to gawk at the workmen and to “superintend” the construction.

For young boys, especially, the work was a source of wonder, and a never-ending treat to break the monotony of a hot summer day.

Slate roof

The building committee was increasingly disturbed about the roof for the new building, and on October 30, 1867, reported to the County Court that they recommended a modification in the specifications. The plans had called for the use of poplar shingles on the building, but the Committee was uneasy about that.

Wooden shingles, they concluded “are not suitable for a building of that description and would therefore recommend that the roof be made of slate which will last as long as the (Court) House will stand and will require no repairs…” They recognized that this would increase the cost: “It will incur an additional expense of some $800 which we think would be true economy in the County…”

Finish work

The biggest expense to be faced was the additional monies involved in finishing and furnishing the new building. Boyd’s contract called for the construction of the building itself, but did not include a lot of interior trim, and did not cover needed furniture and other incidentals.

The building committee appeared before the County Court early in 1867 to provide for these things, and the court approved a sum of $3,000. The Court ordered that the “said committee was hereby authorized to make contracts for the completion and furnishing of said courthouse in such manner as they may deem best.

The work proceeded rapidly in the fair-weather months of the summer of 1867, and the Court issued payments to Boyd to cover the cost of materials being consumed on the job. He received bonds totaling $280 on May 27 and $213 on August 14.

Soon the Hawesville landing was bustling with activity as barges loaded with sand were unloaded by sweating men with scoop shovels, while others loaded the sand onto wagons to be hauled to the site. Other wagons brought in bricks, which had to be carefully off-loaded, placed in wagons cushioned with straw.

The committee met with the contractor and architects and drew up a set of additional specifications involving not only finishing work but some structural modifications to the original contract. The changes included additional ceiling joists between the first and second floors to strengthen the upper floor, preparing the roof for the reception of metal gutters and re-designing the roof frame for slating rather than shingling. The gutters and valleys of the roof were to be lined with twelve ounce sheet copper.

Floor of courtroom

The floor of the circuit courtroom was to be “deadened and pegged” to keep down noise and enhance its appearance. The contract also spelled to the requirements for interior finishing, with the walls of all interior rooms to be plastered with “white lime plaster,” while in the Circuit Court and County Court rooms the walls were to be plastered to the bottom of the window line, with the walls below this line to be made of “hydraulic cement,” which would later be covered with wooden wainscoting.

The cost for these additions was $2,022.55. This contract was approved on June4, 1868.

Nearly finished in ‘68

By November of 1868, the exterior of the building was virtually complete. The brickmasons were finished, the roofers and slaters were done. There now remained the matter of interior finishing, window treatment and other incidentals.

A contract to cover these items was approved on November 16 between Boyd and the committee, specifying in detail the work to be done and the method of payment. The contract called for a payment of $925 in cash for the work described, or, Boyd added, “I will take a $500 county bond at its cash value payable in 1872, and the balance in cash, 1/2 when the work is half done and the balance when the work is completed.”

The contract completed the structural specifications of the building. The remaining items on the committee’s “must-have” list were items which could be bought commercially and installed with little difficulty. On November 21, 1868, the committee recommended to the Court that the justices approve an agreement with Boyd that he furnish and install stoves, iron railings, window blinds, chairs, carpeting, and similar items to complete the furnishing of the building.

Soon the stoves, railings, chairs and other furnishings were in place according to the terms of the contracts and agreements, and the building was at last finished.

The pride and joy of Hancock County stood on the court square overlooking the lesser buildings around it, and looking down to the landing and the river.

From its windows, looking northward, could be seen the busy shops and stores which reached from the square down toward the landing, and beyond to the gleam of the broad Ohio and to the green shores of Indiana, where the walls and spires of the Cannelton cotton mill could be clearly seen in the distance. Its cost was nearly $22,000.

Sidewalks and horse racks

The completion and opening of the building was not the completion of the project. The County Court voted an additional sum of $300 for improvement to the courthouse square, and appointed a committee of Samuel B. Ireland, Lester C. Davidson and W. Sterett to see these improvements.

First on the list was a series of sidewalks leading from the street into the building, so that patrons would not have to walk in the mud. These sidewalks were of brick, and involved expenditures to Capt.

Patrick Murphy was paid $11.90 for building three horse racks alongside the street in March of 1871, so that there would be plenty of room for those with business in the courthouse to tie their horses or hitch their teams. This helped to alleviate a major problem since there were not enough hitching racks to meet the demand in Hawesville.

By Donn Wimmer