A NEW LIFE FOR OUR HISTORIC COURTHOUSE

Our 52-year-old Courthouse is about to get a new lease on life.

With a $500,000 state grant and our $55,555 match, its exterior will be cleaned, repaired, and protected, and its clock and bell tower returned to working order. Research and documentation will prepare the original building (excluding the jail addition at the back) for placement on the National Register of Historic Places.

Eleven counties received courthouse rehabilitation funds out of 33 applicants from across the state. South Central Tennessee Development District wrote and will administer the grant on behalf of Lawrence, Maury, and Giles counties - many thanks to SCTDD’s Community Development Manager Nicole Poag and Senior Economic & Community Development Director Lorie Fisher. Awardees outside our region are Dickson, Pickett, Chester, Lauderdale, Morgan, Polk, Scott, and Weakley counties.

Our Courthouse, built in 1974, is the youngest among the grantees. Dickson County’s was built in 1830 and is the oldest in the group and in the state. A courthouse had to be at least 50 years old to qualify for the grant and a spot on the National Register.

Much of the finished work won’t be obvious. You’ll see the correct time on the clock and hear a chime on the hour, but the crumbling balcony over the Sheriff’s Department entrance is the most visible sign of damage most of us would notice.

A closer look reveals problems all over the building caused by exposure to the elements. “Water seepage over the years has caused deterioration in several places that need to be addressed,” our grant application stated. Caulk around the windows, between the granite panels on the walls, and at connection points in the concrete pillars is all but gone.

The work you won’t notice once the scaffolding is gone includes repairing all those joints with materials that “match the color, texture, strength, joint width and joint profile of the existing historic masonry.” Every surface will be cleaned, then sealed to protect against future damage. This will extend the building’s life, saving millions of taxpayer dollars in future repairs and construction.

Following this exterior work, we will begin projects to improve the interior of the courthouse. This will include efforts to make the entrance more secure while preserving the glass-enclosed foyer and other Modernist architectural elements. We can make the changes we need inside without breaking rules set by our National Register listing.

Our grant states, “Rehabilitation brings buildings to a state of utility which makes possible an efficient use while reserving those features of the building which are significant to its historic, architectural, and cultural values. Rehabilitation not only encourages the repair of historic buildings, it allows appropriate alterations to ensure their efficient contemporary use.” Examples include the conversion of vacant schools into apartments and warehouses into offices.

Many of us are nostalgic for the 1905 Courthouse that stood in the middle of the Square. I understand that, but folks who knew the building well say its many problems were too big and expensive to fix. Even with every issue addressed (including installation of central heat and air), it wasn’t big enough.

We outgrew our current courthouse about 20 years ago, and that’s why my office and others aren’t there any more. The jail addition at the back of the Courthouse was a necessary expansion, and so was the recent conversion of interior space between the jail and Courthouse into two new courtrooms and court offices.

In addition to those involved in the grant process, we owe a big thanks to Commissioners for their support of the Courthouse project. None of this would be possible without them.