Sunday, June 21, 2009 9:23 PM CDT
Efforts under way to save historic Effingham County Courthouse
By HERB MEEKER, Staff Writer
hmeeker@jg-tc.com
EFFINGHAM — There might be bats in the Effingham County Courthouse clock belfry, but people still are going to bat to save the 19th century building.
Last week, members of Landmarks Illinois braved a bat — albeit a dead one, on the floor under the clock bell — and the heat in the shuttered courthouse during a tour conducted by members of a local committee dedicated to saving the courthouse as a museum and cultural center. The structure, which first convened court when U.S. Grant was president, has been empty since a new courts building opened a couple of years ago to the west along Jefferson Avenue in downtown Effingham.
Despite the bat and some water near the old stone foundation after a morning thunderstorm, members of Landmarks Illinois were impressed with the integrity of the structure built in the 1870s.
“It doesn’t seem to me the building needs to be condemned. It is in pretty good shape,” said Suzanne Germann, funding and easement coordinator with Landmarks Illinois, an historic preservation group based in Chicago.
German toured the old courthouse with Eiliesh Tuffy, director of preservation programs, and Mina McGuire, assistant to the Landmarks Illinois president.
Delaine Donaldson, a retired history teacher and member of a committee working to create an Effingham County Cultural Center and Museum in the old courthouse, explained the building is more than an old public structure to many residents in Effingham County. It and the courthouse square were the site of infamous murder trials, political rallies, teacher and military draft registrations and community festivals through the years. Others were married there in civil ceremonies or met before taking in a movie at the nearby Heart Theater, now closed and looking for a new owner.
“This is the place that identifies the county,” Donaldson said of the building with design that looks like a gingerbread mansion come to life with its red bricks and creamy white stone quoins on the corners.
Bev Soltwedel of the committee agrees the courthouse has a special place in the heart of Effingham. She remembered as a little girl during the Effingham Centennial parade how the celebration seemed to center on the courthouse lawn.
“Those are wonderful memories I have. That is why I love this courthouse square,” she said.
But time is ticking away on the future of the old courthouse. Effingham County Board Chairwoman Carolyn Willenburg said the county has received an offer of $10,000 for the building from a businessman interested in opening an antiques mall there. The county is currently paying about $20,000 per year for maintaining the building, mainly through utility costs.
“There is no deadline right now. There was a proposal for setting a deadline by the end of July, but I think if the museum committee is making progress we’ll work with them,” Willenburg said.
Donaldson said a public meeting earlier this spring showed overwhelming support for saving the structure. But he admits some people would like the building demolished in order to save tax dollars.
That is why Landmarks Illinois representatives were invited to Effingham. The organization is an advocate for saving historic structures and is conducting a tour of courthouses that might qualify for a share in $1 million of restoration funds left by a private donor to help with saving courthouses across the state.
“I think the county and city need to work together on this and stay public with whatever they are doing,” Germann said. “It will probably take a few years to secure all the funding they need. The funding available depends on how they pursue this.”
Donaldson said the National Road or today’s U.S. Route 40 has drawn national attention over the past decade as a scenic historic byway. Effingham was one of many towns where the roadway, considered the first nationally funded highway, crossed through as part of the western migration in the 1800s.
“About a million people traveled down the National Road in the 1800s. They were either in covered wagons, pushing hand carts or just carrying things on their backs. Some of them were driving cattle or hogs. It was part of the western movement in this country,” said Donaldson, who has done much research on Effingham County history.
So a museum that touches on a National Road theme might help draw visitors to Effingham in the future, local leaders said. But there are other ways the old courthouse might draw a crowd, too.
Soltwedel said local art and theater groups are interested in using the space. Donaldson said history presentations could also teach generations for years to come.
As they talked about their efforts, the courthouse clock bell rang from above. Though empty, the courthouse still marks time. The question now is what will time hold for the landmark.
For more information on Landmarks Illinois, log onto www.landmarks.org.
Contact Herb Meeker at hmeeker@jg-tc.com or 238-6869.
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Herb Meeker/Staff -- Landmarks Illinois officials, from left, Suzanne Germann, Eiliesh Tuffy and Mina McGuire marvel at condition of the courthouse clock bell in the clock tower of the old Effingham County Courthouse. Though the courthouse is now shuttered, the clock is still ticking and the bell ringing.
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