Early Courts in Washington Parish, Washington Parish, LA Submitted by Bonnie Dier Date: August 27, 2006 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ Bogalusa Daily News July 28, 1953 Early Courts in Washington Parish By Russ Williams, Jr. It is a little comical to the younger generation to hear many incidents and happenings of by-gone years, so important then to the parties involved. When we think of Court, automatically a picture of a fine courtroom with a Judge, Lawrence and a Jury comes to our minds. It is a little strange and a bit amusing to learn that the first law and order of our lovely Washington Parish was carried on in an old weather-beaten barn. Even as a man was being sentence or the pounding of the gavel, the distant sound of a cow munching her corn or a mother hog suckling her young pigs could be heard from the stalls below. Now mind you, this was not just yesterday but 134 years ago. It was in 1819, an important year in the memories of older folk, that Washington Parish was formed from the upper half of St. Tammany and was named in honor of the first President, George Washington. After the formation of the Parish, there being no appropriate place in which to hold court, a Col. Thomas C. Warner, one of the most highly respected men in this section, offered the upper story of his barn for the court. His offer was immediately accepted until a suitable place could be built. Col Warner not only furnished the place but also served as Judge for a number of years. Irishman in Court On one occasion an Irishman by the name of Price Conley was at the court, where he drank a little too much, fell asleep, woke up and made his way to the Court door where a tall, knock-kneed, cross-eyed man by the name of Parish Childres, was arguing a case before the Court. Conley shouted “Walk’d it old gimlet eyes; walk’d it.” The Judge asked who was disturbing the Court, “this old hoss, Judge,” said Conley. “Mr. Sheriff, take that old hoss off and lock him up in the stable, with the rest of the horses.” The order was carried out; there being no other place for a jail. On Feb. 10, 1821, a bill was passed by the Louisiana Legislature declaring that the permanent seat of Justice should be moved to a place called “Franklin.” This place was 30 acres in size. The land was originally donated for use as a Parish Seat by John Bickham. The land was to be sold in lots by the Police Jury but the center lot was to be reserved for a Courthouse. The town site was surveyed by Joshua Yarborough. At the time it was laid out, the surveying party met at the Peach Tree, which was in one corner, to begin surveying. One old timer, long deceased, declared that the party had brought along “booze”, because the town never laid “square with the world”. You never could tell which corner was which. When the first settlers moved into the new Parish Seat, no name had been chosen. Since the Parish had been named in honor of the Father of the Country, George Washington, they thought it would be respectful that they name the Parish Seat after another great America, Benjamin Franklin. (A rumor was spread that the author of “Poor Richard’s Almanac” was a very fine man and some of the ladies heard that he was even working on a new invention for them to cook on, better than their old open fireplaces.) First Courthouse In 1826, the Parish finally began to build the first Courthouse. In the early history of our Parish there was a clash between those residents who wanted to hold court in Franklin and those who were content to hold court in the barn owned by Col. Tom Warner. Finally, in an election held on July 4th, 1826, the victory was in favor of those wanting to build a courthouse in Franklin. The name of the Parish Seat was then changed to Franklinton. The construction of the building was very slow. First, the builders had to decide whether to use brick or lumber. Funds were very scarce, labor plentiful (almost everyone wanted to do something for the Parish), but the only bricks made in the state were made in New Orleans, and if ordered the buyer had to wait many months before he could expect delivery. Then, with transportation being so difficult, it was decided there was too much expense and inconvenience involved in securing bricks. So a wood frame building was soon decided upon. It took almost the whole year to complete the building, but court was held in the building before the year was out. When the court was moved to Franklin, Col. Warner decided that he no long wanted the position of Judge. He thought it was too hard for one man to sentence another to the many phases of punishment. Benjamin Richardson took over the Judgeship in the new seat. Col. Warner did not step completely from the picture because he continued to work in the court as clerk of court for many years. Mr. Richardson had acted previously as the Justice of the Peace at his residence on the Ben’s Ford (the ford in the Bogue Loosa Creek – named for Mr. Richardson by Andrew Jackson). Court was held in this wooden structure until the year 1858, when the courthouse was destroyed by fire. Fortunately all the original records were saved. They were stored on the first floor of the building, and the fire evidently broke out on the upper floor, giving time to save the important documents. (This information was found among the memoirs of John R. Wood. He was born in Franklinton in 1833 and lived in Franklinton so it is believed his statements are correct; however, most books written on the early history of the Parish indicates that the first courthouse was build of brick.) After the wooden building had been destroyed, the task of rebuilding had to be undertaken. During this time, Court was held in the old school building built by Pleasant Magee and Dave Gilchrist. (Mr. Gilchrist taught the first term of school there.) The new courthouse building was planned by the policy jury with the money that had been appropriated. It was definitely decided that this time the Parish was to have a brick building. The Newsoms had meanwhile opened a brick factory in Tangipahoa, within a 20-mile distance. Bricks were purchased from their factory and the new building was completed in the early months of 1859. Perhaps the first Judge to preside on the bench was Col. Martin G. Penn of Covington. Most oldtimers said he was not very lenient, with Jury members nor with the ones on trial. A Mr. Tom Gill, a tall man who lived in the western part of the Parish, made his way reeling and falling against the Judge’s stand. With a faint look and a weak voice, he stated to the Judge, “I am might sick.” “I see you are, Mr. Gill, stand aside,” replied the Judge. Even though the man was ill he still had to serve on the Jury. The Judge was accused many times as having a wooden ear. He was not very sympathetic with anyone. Few Laws Broken When the civil War broke out most of the Soldiers that went off to war had served on the court juries. During their absence Court was not held as often, for there were not many laws broken. Everyone was busy working for the cause. After New Orleans fell into the hands of Federal Troops, Franklinton was soon brought under Federal control. The Court House was troop headquarters, and thereafter, no court session was held without Federal supervision. During the period of reconstruction and after the Federals had turned the city of Franklinton over to the citizens (143 in number) nothing startling or spectacular happened in court matters for many years. Many Judges sat on the bench – each writing a page or two in the history of our Parish. It was in the year of 1890 that the first “courthouse” of Washington Parish was to be torn down, you will recall that the building was in the barn of Col. Thomas C. Warner. The Judge, Jury and the Deputies, decided that it would be a very respectful gesture to revisit the old barn and pay homage to the by-gone days before it was destroyed. A little later a cavalcade of buggies went to the old spot. The Jury and all the officials attending had their pictures made at the old barn. The new brick building was situated in the Southwest corner of the yard. It was not a very large building. There was only four rooms or offices downstairs, one each for the Sheriff, Clerk-of-Court, Assessor and the Police Jury. Upstairs, there was the large room used only for court sessions. There was nothing spectacular in the appearance of the building but the residents of Washington Parish were proud of it. Being brick, it did give one the impression that the Parish was making progress. Time idled by for the next few years, but excitement came again in 1897. In that year there was a new outburst of crime. The court sessions were over-worked with cases during the terms of session. On one occasion, a criminal had been apprehended for a crime and sufficient evidence had been collected. It seemed that he should certainly be convicted, but he carefully devised a plan of destroying the courthouse in order to destroy the evidence. Destroyed in 1897 So, on March 17th, 1897, he set fire to the building, destroying not only the evidence against him but all the records and transactions and marriage records of early parish history. It is said that many courageous men tried to save some of the documents, but it seems their efforts only made the papers burn more swiftly. Many people prefer to believed that the fire was not deliberately planned, but was accidental. The Court House in those days was used very much as the courtyard is today; a spot where the men of the community gather to hold their “gossip” sessions. There was a large chimney in one end of the building and the men gathered in front of the fire to keep warm. It is possible that on the night of March 17th, the fire was not snuffed out and it could, by accident, have been the cause of the fire. On the morning of March 18th, the quaint little courthouse in the southwest corner of the yard was no more. Court was held in the Masonic Hall until the new temporary structure could be completed. The spirit of union among the people of Washington Parish had not died, for everyone volunteered to assist in the building a new courthouse. A wooden two-story structure with large galleries at each end was hastily built. Most people had their deeds recorded in the new set of books, but some did not see the need of this so they left it undone. The few old records found in the courthouse today are those that were re-recorded after the tragedy in 1897. In 1905 the Police Jury, under the leadership of Leon Pounds, had devised a plan to replace the old courthouse with a new modern brick one. The old courthouse was moved from the square to the spot where the Southern hotel now stands. The new brick courthouse was completed late in 1906, the cornerstone having been laid on July 4th of that year. The new Masonic Hall Building in Franklinton was also begun by the laying of the corner stone on that same date, July 4th, 1906. Many Parish officials participated at both events. The trials dealing with the Probation Period were held in the new Courthouse building. Many murder trials were also held in the building. It was an exciting place, always busy with the hub-bub of courthouse affairs. Perhaps the only judge who remained on the bench for the longest period was a native son of the Parish, Judge P. B. Carter, father of Miss Texana Carter. This brick building served the Parish for 32 yeas, but was finally ruled unsafe. During WPA days another building was erected in the center of the square, costing the State over $50,000 in that difficult period. The only striking thing about the building is that it is considered 99 percent fireproof. On the date the new building was opened, the Parish was turned into a place of much activity. It was a very gala affair, there was even a parade and a picnic held. The Era Leader in Franklinton reprinted P. R. Carter’s History of the parish to remind everyone of the trials and hardships of the early settlers who lived and died for the sake of their beloved Parish.