Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2016 All Rights Reserved USGenNet Data Repository Please read USGenNet Copyright Statement on this page: Transcribed and submitted by Linda Talbott for the USGenNet Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ =========================================================================== Formatted by USGenNet Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== American Bar Association Journal Cover Story - November 1969 [extraction] Michigan's Oldest Mark Twain's remark that the report of his death was an exaggeration may be applied to the courthouse on our cover this month - the Lapeer County Courthouse. For through the years it has been considered a wreck, or a disgrace or just plain falling down, and it has been threatened with extinction, destruction or replacement. Yet it stands today, perhaps in better condition than it has ever been, on Nepessing Street in Lapeer, Michigan, proudly bearing the mantle of the oldest courthouse in Michigan still in use. The courthouse, constructed in 1839, was the product of a feud that proved profitable for the residents of Lapeer. The first settle of Lapeer, A. N. HART, got into a fuss with the second settler, J. R. WHITE, who arrived a few days later - a fuss that later Lapeer County history described as "more or less bitter". By 1839 HART and WHITE, both of whom were lawyers, each had built a courthouse and offered it to the public. HART won what was called the "Courthouse War" when the board of super- visors bought his building for $3,000, although it had cost him $10,000 to erect it. WHITE's courthouse became the Lapeer Academy and later the town's high school. Everyone was happy about the war. Time and wear and tear took their toll, for by 1879 a committee of the board of supervisors sadly noted that the "courthouse is fast going to decay on account of the crumbling of the walls and poor condition of the underpinning". The committee also observed that "The yard around the courthouse is in a dirty and filthy condition by reason of cattle being allowed to run therein." The cows were chased away and the building moved to a new foundation. In 1887 a supervisor from Imlay City, a town that aspired to the status of Lapeer County seat, charged that the county buildings were a "shame and a disgrace" and said Imlay City was prepared to spend $50,000 for a new courthouse, if, of course, it were located in Imlay City. But this move was defeated. By the 1960's the building had fallen into disrepair again. It had not been repainted since before World War II, and the paint was peeling. It was stained from rusted pipes; it had dirty windows; the yard was weedy; the heating system was erratic. The move for rejuvenation and restoration was led by the Lapeer County Press, which offered money for an architech- ural survey of the building. This showed that the building was structur- ally sound, and a restoration fund was established. The Press sponsored what was described as the "biggest dance ever held in the county", the paper paying all the expenses and half the proceeds going to the fund. The board of supervisors allocated funds, but unfortunately the restor- ation was not completed. A brand new building to house the county offices has been built behind the old courthouse, now 130 years old. But many of the citizens of Lapeer County now realized they have a jewel in their midst, and they are deter- mined to protect and cherish it. If they have their way, the Lapeer County Courthouse will last another hundred years. ===========================================================================