Chapter XIX
Seven-year-old
Boyd Schotte was one of these and remembers it as vividly as if it were last
week. They came from every school in the
county and there were also hundreds of citizens from towns and country.
The
solemn laying of the cornerstone was by Chariton Lodge A.F. & A. M. - A. G.
Phelps, M.W.G.M. The legend bears the
names of A. M. Wheeler, P. V. VanArsdale and H. M. Finch, Supervisors, A. M.
Wheeler was the grandfather of Don Wheeler, Harry Reeves and Genevieve Hickman,
all of Chariton. P. V. VanArsdale was
the father of the late Beakman VanArsdale, H. M. Finch, Civil War veteran, was
the father of Ernest Finch of the Belinda community and the grandfather of Mrs.
Neil (Donna) Smith and Charles (Chuck) Finch both of Chariton.
D.
Eikenberry and G. J. Stewart are listed as builders. D. (Daniel) Eikenberry was the grandfather of
our present townsman William Eikenberry, W. J. Conner was the stone cuter.
The
entire building above the foundation is of Berea (Ohio) stone - a famous stone
widely used in public buildings for many years.
In this courthouse, the stone was backed by brick. The building was completed and accepted February
24, 1894, and two days later the county officials moved in. The complete cost was $59,670.86 - pridefully
below the amount of the bond issue.
Mr.
S. H. Mallory had attended the Columbian World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893 and as
exposition buildings are generally dismantled after the show, Mr. Mallory
bought several carloads of the lumber of the Agricultural building and also the
big clock on the building. He gave this
clock to Lucas county for its new courthouse.
The
bell in the tower of the old building was transferred to the new clock. It is a weight clock and in its striking
operation, the hammer drops to contact the bell - the old hammer strikes the
old bell in the new setting. The clock
is of the famous Seth Thomas make - the finest of its kind.
Mr.
Mallory had a dustproof case built of plate glass seven feet square and ten
feet high. The engraved plate has this
legend:
Presented
to Lucas county by S. H. Mallory, January 1, 1894. Started running May 22, 1894.
“O
heed the ancient landmarks well
In
solemn tones exclaimed the bell
No
progress made by mortal man
Can
change the just, immortal plan.”
The
Dedication Program, yellow with age, is quite impressive as to its list of
speakers. It is a galaxy of notables,
many with titles, others without but no less distinguished. Starting at 10 1.m. the invocation was offered
by the Rev. W. V. Whitten, followed by the address of welcome by Mayor W. B.
Barger. The program was interspersed
throughout the long day by the music of three bands - “The famous O.U.R.” and
the Columbia Pleasant - J. H. McCorkel and Joshua Wilson. Union - Alonzo Williams and Joseph Parkin.
Just
as Jerusalem had in succession three temples of worship, so Lucas county had
three temples of justice. The first was
of logs and stood where Turner’s Clothing Store is now. It was built in 1850, the year after the
county was organized. At that time there
were only three or four hundred inhabitants in the county. A courthouse was necessary but there was no
money so they issued 20 certificates of $19.75 each to be redeemed from the
sale of town lots. The building cost
$359 and lasted eight years. The museum
has a replica of this log structure. The
Historical Society also desires a replica of the second courthouse. Good pictures are available from which its
lines could be drafted.
The
second courthouse was built on the same site, a handsome two-story Georgian
style edifice of red brick and surmounted by a bell tower. It cost $13,500. (Stuart History of Lucas
County 1913) and lasted only 31 years, because it had a log foundation. The builders had not heeded the Biblical
admonition to build your house upon a rock.
Before long it began to crack and was condemned in 1891 after court had
been held in various churches for several years. Mrs. VanDyke writes that they started tearing
it down February 8, 1892.
Much
information from here on was gleaned from the CHARITON PATRIOT “Dedication
Issue” of May 22, 1894, and from personal memory of Boyd Schotte and Charles
Johnson, in addition to the VanDyke journal mentioned earlier in this book. In August 1892 the county voted a bond issue
of $60,000 to build a new courthouse.
The bids were opened October 4 and the contract awarded to Eikenberry
and Company, long established lumber dealers.
Ten
days later digging began with Mr. G. J. Stewart turning the first spadeful of
earth.
The
foundation stone was quarried on the farm of Peter Gustave Lager, now owned by
Leo Krutsinger. Charles Johnson gives us
the history of that mine-quarry operation.
It was on a hillside, underlaid with coal. Mr. Lager mined out the coal then quarried
the rock - an unusual kind of stone, extremely solid, durable and of great
tensile strength.
Numerous
buildings and foundations in this area were built of this stone and stand today
as plumb and sturdy as when they were laid.
The foundation was laid in the fall and Mrs. VanDyke writes in her
journal that it “rested” all winter.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- -
The
cornerstone was laid May 25, 1893 and this was at once a solemn and gala
occasion - the gala tone being supplied by several hundred school children
arriving in a body, each carrying a small American flag.
Warren
- Capt. L. S. Huntley, captain in the Civil War, father of the late Clark
Huntley, grandfather of Mary Huntley Larson and Raymond Brewer, both of
Chariton. Park Williams, father of Elbert
Williams and Oakley brass bands. The
president of the day was S. H. Mallory whose speech was followed by “The Orator
of the Day”, the Hon. James. A. Penick.
The
afternoon program was called to order by the Hon. S. L. Bestow. The 12 townships were represented by the
following speakers:
Benton
- A. S. Beals, father of the late Rev. Archie Beals; John V. Bonnett, uncle of
Paul C. Bonnett of rural Chariton.
Cedar
- Sidney Wells, father of the late Judge E. S. Wells and grandfather of Miss
Gail Wells, long time Principal of East School in Chariton. F. H. Tinker.
English
- T. M. Dunshee, grandfather of George Dunshee of Chariton; O. F. Brownlee,
Civil War veteran wounded at the battle of Lookout Mountain and grandfather of
the late Leland Brownlee.
Jackson
- Hon. H. L. Byers, J. B. Knotts, Dr. Thomas Croston.
Liberty
- Hon. A. J. Shular.
Otter
creek - Hon. R. O Miller, father of John Worth Miller, now of Indianola, but
who commutes to Chariton to join the Aeolean orchestra where he plays the viola
and or the violin. His son William Max
Miller, grandson of the Ron. R. O. Miller is Instrumental Music instructor in
the grade schools of Chariton. Frank Williams.
Whitebreast
- Hon. H. L. Exley, great-grandfather of Mrs. Floyd (Dorothy) Dexter, great
uncle of Mr. Wayne Exley, Jr. High Principal in Chariton schools, Dale and
Milan Exley, Mrs. Cecil Lockridge, Mrs. Don Offenburger and Mrs. Ralph Halferty
all of Chariton. Hamilton Mauk,
grandfather of Dewey and Ferris Mauk and great, great uncle of Marie Mauk, all
of Lucas county.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“BAR
EXERCISES, etc.” headlined the evening
program called to order by Lt. Gov. W. S. Dungan at 7 p.m. The speeches covered a variety of subjects.
“The
early bar of Lucas county,” by Col. Dungan, father of Mrs. Edna Culbertson of
Minneapolis.
“The
old log courthouse”, by Hon. S. D. Wheeler, great-grandfather of Don Wheeler of
Chariton.
“The
early prosecuting attorneys”, by W. F. David.
“The
old brick courthouse”, by N. B. Garner
“The
legal rights of women”, by T. M. Stuart, great-grandfather of Justice William
Stuart of Chariton.
“Recollections
of the Illinois and Iowa Bar”, by E. M. Thorpe.
“Justice
of peace courts”, by N. B. Branner.
“Law
as an educator”, by S. D. Hickman.
“The
ex-judges of second judicial district”, by J. A. Penick.
“Municipal
Law”, by W. B. Barger.
“District
and County Attorneys”, by O. A. Barthalomew.
“The
petit jury”, by G. G. Fancher.
“The
grand jury”, by J. C. Copeland.
“The
city of Chariton”, by G. W. Alexander.
“The
practice of law”, by C. C. Leech.
“Lucas
County”, by J. A. Campbell.
“Land
titles”, by W. S. Dorsey.
“Our
judicial system”, by J. C. Mitchell.
“Our
new courthouse”, by G. G. Reeside.
“The
press and the bar”, by F. Q. Stuart, great, great uncle of Justice William Stuart.
“Law
as a profession”, by E. H. Knowles.
From
Don Wheeler we have a copy of the speech of his great-grandfather the Hon. S.
D. Wheeler, excerpts from that speech follow:
“I
am glad, yes, more than glad - I am proud to be here to join with you in
dedicating this splendid new courthouse.
When the proposition was submitted to the voters to issue bonds to the
amount of $60,000 to build this beautiful temple, and it was so ordered by a
respectable majority, I had no thought I would live to see its completion and
dedication and so expressed myself. I
was asked by the opponents of the proposition why I was in favor of imposing
upon the taxpayers a debt I did not expect to help pay. My answer was, it was a necessity, the
highest interest of the community demanded it.
I am proud I am here tonight.
When I was here in 1855, I was looking at this country with a view of
locating here and making it my future home.
Being
pleased with the county, I entered land in Liberty township, returned home and
made preparations to come and settle upon it.
My friends tried to discourage me, said I would get beyond the pales of
civilization, I would never live to see any conveniences, the society in the
settlement of a new county was always of the roughest class. Some had moved to Iowa and had come back in a
few years. The wind blew so terribly
here that it required three or four men to build a rail fence. It had to be held down until it was stake-and-ridered. I told them I would do as Bonaparte did when
he crossed the Rubicon - I would tear up all the bridges as I passed over them
so that there would be no chance of returning.
I am here tonight to rejoice with you over our success. I have no desire to return. I have seen the grand march of improvements
that has been going on in our beautiful county and all around us. If some of my friends in Ohio were here
tonight I would like to ask them what they thought of our civilization and my
never seeing and enjoying any of the comforts of life. My time is up. Thanking you, I bid you goodnight.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The
daylight hours were almost over. With
nightfall came the “last hurrah” in the succession of events on that historic
day - “The grand illumination of the courthouse with 300 electric lights”. (The best opinion of today is that these
lights were 25 watt or less, but it was a glorious sight on that occasion.)
A display of fireworks and the grand ball at
the opera house completed the celebration.
Thus
ended Lucas county’s day of splendor - its greatest day, then its citizens
figuratively stood on tiptoe in their pride of accomplishment. Prideful indeed should they be. The building of their beautiful new
courthouse was marked from the beginning to its fulfillment by integrity,
honest material, honest labor - a proud monument to its builders and to
everyone who had a part in it.
page
76 - 82
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