Butts County GaArchives News.....BUTTS COUNTY COURTHOUSE September 9, 1898 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Don Bankston http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00024.html#0005864 December 6, 2006, 12:58 am Jackson Argus – Butts County September 9, 1898 Pronounced by Lawyers of Extensive Practice as the Best Court House They Ever Saw The magnificent building which adorns the center of our public square and is known as the Butts county court house is now receiving the latest strokes of the brush and the sponge preparatory to be turned over to the building committee. The court house is 120 feet, outside measurement, from north to south. It is 92 feet in width and is, therefore a very large building. The foundation is of cedar rock granite laid in Georgia cement and sinks to a depth of nine feet around the basement and four feet elsewhere. This granite base is 24 to 36 inches in thickness. Just above the ground is a water table of cedar rock granite around the entire building and measuring 18 inches in height. All corners are of granite up to the windows sill course which is also of granite and which makes a circuit of the building. The corners from the sill course to the roof are built of limestone quoins and are very pretty in contrast with the nine granite and the best oil pressed brick with which they are associated. The walls of the building with their intermixture of granite, limestone, pressed brick, terra cotta, window cups and beautiful entrances combine to produce in the mind a pleasing picture. The front entrance from the south is under an elaborate limestone arch supported by granite pedestals and limestone columns. The entrance from the north is also appropriately trimmed with limestone and terra cotta and is greatly admired by all who use it. The entrances east and west are very similar. They are formed by a group of five brick arches on granite pedestals with iron railings. Entering from the north you ascend a height of six granite steps and land on a porch 16 x 12 with marble tile floor. The two main halls are also laid in Georgia marble and have a waterboard of the same material. The halls are 100 ft. and 60 ft in length respectively and 13 ft. in width. They are heated by two radiators and are as pretty as pictures. If we step in the hallway from the south side we observe the office of the ordinary directly on the left. Going in we find a beautiful room 18 x 24 containing one radiator and a grate. The mantel is of beautiful marbleized iron and the hearth is of Georgia marble in three colors – Cherokee, Kennesaw and Creole. It may be economy to state here that all mantels are of different shades, while all the radiators and exposed pipe are a gold bronze. The ordinary’s fire proof record room is supplied with double vault doors, steel shutters outside for windows and folding steel shutters on inside. This room is 18 x 18, has a grate and is supplied with every convenience for safety, comfort and convenience. The ordinary’s private office is a cozy little room 12 x 14 ft. and is warmed by a small radiator. We now reenter the lobby, the crowning glory of which is a magnificent oak stairway known as the main entrance to the court room, on our way to the clerk’s office. It is a room in the tower 18 x 16 ft. The clerk’s vault is 18 x 20 ft. and is fitted up in all respects, as is the vault for the ordinary. Passing out we look down the hall northward under two heavy arches and we find other doors opening into splendid office departments, and in entering the first of these to the right we find ourselves in the quarters of the two tax officials, the receiving and the collector. This room is 16 x 21 and is entered from either of the two halls. Directly across the hall is the office of the sheriff, which contains two entrances, and is a splendid room 16 x 22 feet. Crossing the hall again we find an entrance to a splendid room 16 x 21 ft. set apart from the use of county commissioners should the county ever establish such a board. Recrossing the hall to the north west corner we find an elegant room which may be used for the purpose of a county court, justice court or as a place for examining teachers by the county school commissioner. It is 22 x 28 ft., has two radiators, a small rostrum and one iron support in the center of oriental pattern. This brings us to the rear of the hall looking north and here we find an elegant stairway for court officers leading into the court room up stairs. Just to the left of the stairway is a well appointed ladies’ toilette, and yet further is an inviting little apartment which has not yet been christened but which will probably grow into a waiting room for ladies. While it is convenient we will walk down stairs into the basement. Here we find a very large engine room, water and dry closets, plunder room and other apartments. We here see the ponderous granite walls and pillars upon which sure foundation rests the big superstructure. In addition to the large furnace and boiler the engine room contains a giant little Rider hot air pumping engine with a capacity of 1,000 gallons per hour. One shovel full of coat runs this engine two hours. It pumps ten well dry in about 15 minutes from which we conclude that the well in its normal condition contains about 250 gallons of water. Now let us leave the basement, which is a marvel of convenience, with its cement floor, its roomy apartments and its useful appliances and take a trip up the main stairway into the second story. Upon landing on the second floor we find ourselves in a spacious lobby facing a set of double doors which enter the court room from the rear. Just to the right is a pretty little stairway leading to the gallery and to the tower. Directly on the right is a room which will be used hereafter as seems best. This room is above the clerk’s office and is 16 x 16. On the left of the entrance we find the office of the Solicitor General and connected therewith is the grand jury room. The latter room is 18 x 25 and is supplied with a grate in addition to two radiators. Pushing in the large spring doors we come to the court room and here we may well pause for a longer view. The Judge’s stand first attracts the eye and to be properly appreciated should be seen. It is natural wood, hard oil finish, embellished with ornamental handiwork and with columns on either side adorned with Corinthian caps and resenting altogether a fine spectacle. The ceiling overhead ids done in beautiful panels, natural wood and the gallery is so beautifully finished as to be an ornament to the room. The floors are inclined. The court room is 52 x 58 ft. This floor space in addition to the gallery will give an idea as to seating capacity. The gallery is supported by four irons posts which gives it the appearance of permanency. There are five large windows on each side having cathedral glass transoms. On either side of the judges stand there are small triangular witness rooms. Back of these are two splendid jury rooms and a strong room for prisoners. This strong room avoids the necessity of an extra bailiff to guard prisoners while in the court house. There is also a consultation room and a private room for the Judge in this section of the building , all of which are provided with closets, radiators and every convenience in the way of light and ventilation. In the “north attic” is a tank holding 3,000 gallons of water which is converted into steam for heating purposes and for flooding the sewers. In this apartment is also a sleeping room for jurors who happen to be “tied “ up overnight. This completes a description of a mere glance into these various apartments. It by no means does justice to the subject, for it is in the small details that the house shows up to be the best advantage. It is by these details that it will be judged in the future and it is by these that the county of butts will be authorized to say to Bruce & Morgan, the architects, and to the McKenzies, builders, and to the building Committee, good ones, “well done, good an faithful servants.” Take the hardware in the building, the mechanism of the windows sashes and doors and a hundred other things that go to make up one of the best and handsomest court houses in Georgia, and you find the touch of the master and that without a flaw. I have said little of the tower for the reason that the illustration presents it quite favorably. The tower is a strong point. It is symmetrical and splendid in proportions. It contains a celebrated Seth Thomas clock and from its lofty perch this iron Chronicler of time bids fair to boss the courts, the workshops and business houses for years to come. Jackson Argus – Butts County Week of September 9, 1898 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/butts/newspapers/buttscou2048gnw.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/ File size: 9.2 Kb