With the opening of the new $52 million courthouse in June of 2009, Barrow County gained a beautiful, modern facility in the outskirts of Winder. Full of spacious offices and courtrooms, the new courthouse has everything the old one lacked except a place in the heart of downtown and a sense of the county’s history.
Built in 1920, the historic downtown courthouse is still being used, but some parts of the building have become nothing more than a glorified storage facility. Currently, the building still houses the Sheriff’s administrative staff and the old courtroom is used only once a month for state administrative license suspension hearings.
Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said he likes having his office in the same building where previous Sheriffs have overseen the department, but said a move may take place at some point in the future.
The clock faces have been removed from the courthouse clock tower so that the surrounding wood can be repaired.
Uncertain future for old courthouse
The county has set aside over $3 million in SPLOST funds for renovations of the courthouse and adjoining building. Smith expects that when and if the annex is refurbished, he will move his offices to that building and the courthouse will possibly become a museum.
Until then, Smith intends to enjoy his time in the historic building.
“It’s a beautiful building and I love it,” he said. “There’s a lot of history there.”
PRESERVING COURTHOUSE HISTORY
That history is being preserved by the Barrow County Historical Society. The Barrow County Museum houses several documents and artifacts related to the courthouse. While many of the documents have been in the Museum’s possession for some time, curator Beth Barton has recently added to the collection.
A few months ago, Sheriff’s assistant Sandra Mingus asked Barton if the museum would be interested in having a pile of old documents that were about to be thrown away. The documents – some dating to the earliest days of the courthouse – had been stored in the clock tower before being moved to the courthouse basement.
Barton readily said yes and has since spent several hours combing through boxes of moldy, filth covered papers. The work has been tedious and dirty, but Barton said she and fellow volunteers have uncovered several treasures in the process.
“We found all kinds of old checks from the 1920s to the 1960s – county commissioner checks, courthouse checks and things where they paid jurors. We found a ton of police warrants,” she said. “A lot were for lunacy. There must have been a lot of crazy people.”
“One guy had three warrants for lunacy in one year. That was interesting,” Barton said.
Also interesting was an old ballot box.
“We found a really neat cardboard box that had Rooster’s Snuff on it,” she said. “At the top of it was a hole cut in it. It had the 1941 cotton ballots in it.”
Ballots and checks were just a few of the papers discovered in the courthouse basement.
Barton also located papers showing where local businessman Wiley Bush sold the land on which the courthouse sits to the county for $20,000. Bush and his family had lived on the site, reportedly the highest point in Winder, but had their house moved to Porter Street to make way for the new courthouse.
Barton also located a 1919 bid for the construction of the new courthouse. Contractor R. W. Wimbish submitted a base estimate of $124,400 to build the two story brick building with limestone columns and front and back porticos with marble entrances. Heating, plumbing and electrical work were listed as being available for an additional $9,000.
Barton said the bid also specified that the courthouse would have a tin roof and be constructed of 90,000 bricks.
“That contractor’s bid told a lot in itself,” she said.
Other sources provided even more information.
“In the 1920 newspapers, it talked about the laying of the cornerstone and the time capsule that was put in," Barton said. "The only thing it mentioned that was in that time capsule was a bottle of Mrs. Bush’s Specific Burn Medicine. Apparently there were other things, but it didn’t list what they were.”
Bush’s Specific Burn Medicine was one of the first products to ever be manufactured in what was then Jug Tavern, Georgia. It was advertised as a treatment for burns, scalds, itching and spasmodic croup. It could also be used as a mild laxative. Since the Bush’s had once owned the land where the courthouse was built, it was perhaps deemed fitting that some memento of their business be preserved for future generations.
FUTURE PLANS
For now, the bottle of Bush’s Specific and the other items in the time capsule rest undisturbed and will remain so unless the courthouse is ever demolished.
That seems an unlikely event given that county taxpayers have allocated millions of dollars for renovations to the historic building.
As of April, $11,952 of the SPLOST funds allocated for the courthouse had been used. At this time, the main restoration activity involves the clock faces in the tower. According to Barrow County operations development manager Bob Hohe, repairs to the courthouse dome should be completed soon. The clocks, which have been temporarily removed, will be replaced once the wood facings around the clock have been restored.
Once the dome repairs are completed, Hohe said the county plans to turn its attention to repairing or replacing the roof on the annex building.
Hohe said the decision regarding any other future repairs or renovations has yet to be made.
Ultimately, chairman Danny Yearwood and county planners will formulate a plan for the building’s future, said Hohe.
“It’s really hinging on what we are going to do with the courthouse,” he said. Whatever decision is made will impact what type of work must be inside, he explained.
“There are a lot of ideas floating around,” he said.
Until then, Smith intends to enjoy his time in the historic building.
“It’s a beautiful building and I love it,” he said. “There’s a lot of history there.”
PRESERVING COURTHOUSE HISTORY
That history is being preserved by the Barrow County Historical Society. The Barrow County Museum houses several documents and artifacts related to the courthouse. While many of the documents have been in the Museum’s possession for some time, curator Beth Barton has recently added to the collection.
This picture shows the courthouse as it looked when it was built in 1920. Photo courtesy of the Barrow County Historical Society
Barton readily said yes and has since spent several hours combing through boxes of moldy, filth covered papers. The work has been tedious and dirty, but Barton said she and fellow volunteers have uncovered several treasures in the process.
“We found all kinds of old checks from the 1920s to the 1960s – county commissioner checks, courthouse checks and things where they paid jurors. We found a ton of police warrants,” she said. “A lot were for lunacy. There must have been a lot of crazy people.”
“One guy had three warrants for lunacy in one year. That was interesting,” Barton said.
Also interesting was an old ballot box.
“We found a really neat cardboard box that had Rooster’s Snuff on it,” she said. “At the top of it was a hole cut in it. It had the 1941 cotton ballots in it.”
Ballots and checks were just a few of the papers discovered in the courthouse basement.
Barton also located papers showing where local businessman Wiley Bush sold the land on which the courthouse sits to the county for $20,000. Bush and his family had lived on the site, reportedly the highest point in Winder, but had their house moved to Porter Street to make way for the new courthouse.
Barton also located a 1919 bid for the construction of the new courthouse. Contractor R. W. Wimbish submitted a base estimate of $124,400 to build the two story brick building with limestone columns and front and back porticos with marble entrances. Heating, plumbing and electrical work were listed as being available for an additional $9,000.
Barton said the bid also specified that the courthouse would have a tin roof and be constructed of 90,000 bricks.
“That contractor’s bid told a lot in itself,” she said.
Other sources provided even more information.
“In the 1920 newspapers, it talked about the laying of the cornerstone and the time capsule that was put in," Barton said. "The only thing it mentioned that was in that time capsule was a bottle of Mrs. Bush’s Specific Burn Medicine. Apparently there were other things, but it didn’t list what they were.”
Bush’s Specific Burn Medicine was one of the first products to ever be manufactured in what was then Jug Tavern, Georgia. It was advertised as a treatment for burns, scalds, itching and spasmodic croup. It could also be used as a mild laxative. Since the Bush’s had once owned the land where the courthouse was built, it was perhaps deemed fitting that some memento of their business be preserved for future generations.
FUTURE PLANS
The old courthouse features an upstairs gallery which is now being used for storage. Photo by Kristi Reed
That seems an unlikely event given that county taxpayers have allocated millions of dollars for renovations to the historic building.
As of April, $11,952 of the SPLOST funds allocated for the courthouse had been used. At this time, the main restoration activity involves the clock faces in the tower. According to Barrow County operations development manager Bob Hohe, repairs to the courthouse dome should be completed soon. The clocks, which have been temporarily removed, will be replaced once the wood facings around the clock have been restored.
Once the dome repairs are completed, Hohe said the county plans to turn its attention to repairing or replacing the roof on the annex building.
Hohe said the decision regarding any other future repairs or renovations has yet to be made.
Ultimately, chairman Danny Yearwood and county planners will formulate a plan for the building’s future, said Hohe.
“It’s really hinging on what we are going to do with the courthouse,” he said. Whatever decision is made will impact what type of work must be inside, he explained.
“There are a lot of ideas floating around,” he said.
If Barrow County could get a decent board of commissioners who understand economic development and what it takes to attract businesses to the area, then the granite hotel and court house could be used for shops and office space.
It amazes me at how much money drives through Winder. The only reason they stop is because we have so many lights on the main drag!
As for the Granite hotel, that is a waste of money. The city/county should go ahead and bulldoze that useless place and be done with it...
The majestic old tree at the corner of the lot at Barrow Co Courthouse is reason enough to save the place. The hotel, not so much.