The Early Years of the Ottawa County Courthouse - Linda Higgins

Ottawa County was formed in 1840 and its first courthouse was built shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, that building had deteriorated so much by 1897 that the State Inspector of Workshops and Buildings declared that it needed extensive repairs or demolished. It wasn’t safe enough for people or records. The boiler under the courtroom could easily explode, by the way!

The commissioners would be fined $50 to $1000 daily while use of the building continued. Hearings were held, and the controversy regarding the site of the county courthouse once again became an issue, with Oak Harbor offering to build a new courthouse, free of charge ($50,000 projected cost).

A special election on June 27, 1898, resulted in the decision to build a new courthouse on the original site. By July, a committee began a tour of courthouses in Indiana and Michigan. Their final choice was a copy of the Starke County (Knox, Indiana) courthouse. Designed by Ward & McMurran of Fort Wayne, Indiana, the building would be entirely fireproofed and built of Marblehead limestone.

Employees and records moved to temporary housing, and demolition of the building began in November, overseen by Caldwell & Drake, Columbus contractors. A side track running up to within ten feet of the old building was established by the Lake Shore railroad to streamline the process. When the building was gone, a change became necessary regarding the building material. The Marblehead quarry’s part owner went into voluntary bankruptcy, so the committee substituted North Amherst block sandstone. The commissioners hired W.H. Sleighmaker, an architect/contractor, as supervisor.

The cornerstone was placed on May 18, 1899, celebrated with a parade made up of bands, the Perry Guards, county fraternal orders, and Port Clinton schoolchildren. C.I. York delivered the welcome address. The Masonic Grand Lodge of Ohio laid the cornerstone, which held copies of local newspapers, and the names of county officials and the building committee. Grand Master E.C. Gulliford of Cleveland dedicated the courthouse.

The next day, during the transfer of a five-ton stone, a cable on the derrick snapped, and the falling derrick struck worker Conrad Balduf. He was seriously injured, and took months to recover. Caldwell & Drake gifted him with “a fine Jersey cow,” Balduf having lost one of his cows soon after this accident. Ophie Grinnell, the derrick operator, was injured also, but not as seriously.

When construction neared completion, a committee was appointed to present the citizenry with a 1/4-mill levy to pay for a marble tablet commemorating soldiers and sailors of Ottawa County who served in the Civil War. The levy passed and, after the courthouse was finished in May of 1901, at a final cost of $61,500, the memorial tablet was placed in the courthouse by Hughes Granite and Marble Company of Clyde. Two other tablets were later added, listing those who served in the Spanish-American War.

In March of 1908, the commissioners contracted for interior murals. Henry Dischinger of Elmore oversaw this artistry, created by Paul O’Brien of Chicago. One, viewed from the first and second floors, is of Perry’s victory. The rotunda murals represent the four major industries of Ottawa County: fishing (French immigrants), agriculture (Danish immigrants), fruit-growing (German immigrants), and quarry-mining (Slavic immigrants). Since its early years, our courthouse has been a beautiful example of living history, thanks to thoughtful maintenance and improvements, even through tough times.