While building’s designed in this style achieved a novel and modern “look,” what was inside the “envelope” remained relatively unchanged. On April 13, 1931, the brick contract was awarded to Elgin-Butler Brick through the San Angelo Building Material Company. In May 1935, the Commissioners Court considered a motion that the Grand Jury room be vacated and reserved for the Grand Jury. The construction firm Vickery and Haynes of Kimble County submitted the lowest bid, $12,500, and was awarded the courthouse contract on May 12, 1885. It was not until two months later, however, on March 14, 1932, that the Commissioners Court accepted a furniture contract with the Dorsey Company of Dallas. Santa Claus comes to visit the children of Menard County by meeting them at the courthouse and courthouse square. The Commissioners Court ordered on May 13, 1884, that bonds be issued for the construction of a new courthouse and jail, and county residents responded by passing a $20,000 bond issue. The search for a contractor began immediately, with a call for bids published on February 5. This is an image of a place or building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States of America. The east and west elevations of the courthouse are identical, although the view of the east elevation is obscured by the 1980 jail building. One hundred fourteen property tax payers had signed a petition supporting the bond election, whose property, the paper reported, “represented fifty percent of the assessed valuation of the County.” The Messenger went on to quote a 1928 Grand Jury report on the condition of the 1885 courthouse. The Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) has their annual auction at the American Legion Park. Jury Duty, District and County Clerk of Court, Phone Number, and other Menard County info. Substantial repairs and changes, totalling $12,170, were made to the basement and first floor by contractor R. S. Ligon, Jr. in 1973. The façade’s metal casement windows vary in size and style. COUNTY OF MENARD ) ) S.S. STATE OF ILLINOIS ) The Menard County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday, January 28, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. at the Menard County Courthouse, 102 S. Seventh Street, Petersburg, Illinois. The first floor was occupied by a store, with the courthouse and jail on the second floor, accessed from an exterior stair. Mires and built by B. Strom in 1880. Although some have estimated higher costs, a review of the Commissioners Court minutes suggests that the cost was approximately $100,000 to $105,000. The remaining windows are simple casements with two vertically divided panes. Menard County Senior Transportation operates its programs and services without regard to race, color, or national origin in accordance with Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. An apparently pressing need was addressed almost immediately. Development of Menard County[1]. Bays are divided by simple brick pilasters that stop below the cornice. Without proper heating, lighting, or ventilation, conditions in the “dungeon” were often criticized. This method was applied to buildings’ defining formal components, like columns and cornices, as well as in limited areas of applied decoration, often in the form of low-relief sculptural carvings. The concrete walls of the raised, but unfinished, basement are exposed on the side and rear elevations, providing a visual base. Simpson was paid $60 for his consultation. Taking advantage of the lower construction costs and plentiful labor supply generated by the Great Depression, the county constructed the building to replace their 1885 courthouse and jail. An additional jail cell, known as the “dungeon,” was originally placed in the unfinished basement and used for prisoners too drunk or difficult to get up four flights of stairs. County Seat: Menard Contact Us Menard County Courthouse 102 South Seventh Street Petersburg, IL 62675 Courthouse Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM Please note the posted courthouse closing General Contractor: Vickery & Haynes As work began, W.E. Commissioners Bob Lott, Jeff The fort attracted settlement and Menard County was officially established in 1858, with the town of Menardville (now Menard) named the county seat. The building’s most common windows, which include an operable horizontal section below the vertically divided casements, were used on the two-story wings and the second floor of the central section. On the same day, A.P. The 1931 Menard County Courthouse has served as the center of county government for over seventy years. The canal separates the southern block, which includes the courthouse and 1980 jail building (non-contributing), from the northern block, a mostly open space known as American Legion Park. The stones from the old courthouse and jail were used to build the fence around the Pioneer Rest Cemetery in Menard. (Commissioners Court Minutes, Oct. 30, 1930). Twenty-two bids came in on March 9, 1931, ranging from $135,000 to $176,000. The three-story mass that rises behind the entry section is the most ornamental face of the building. Additional county offices are in the wings, with the district courtroom occupying the majority of the building’s central core. COUNTY OF MENARD ) ) S.S. STATE OF ILLINOIS ) The Menard County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday November 14, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. in the Menard County Courthouse, 102 S. Seventh Street, Petersburg, Illinois. This work appears to have been more successful, as no other roof repairs were reported until the 1980s. The railroad provided access to new markets for the county’s livestock, and Menard thrived, its population growing to 1,000 by 1914. The Menard County Courthouse even housed the public library for many years, a feature included in the original design (as part of the “Witness Room” described above). The central section is four stories, abutted by shallow three story masses on the north and south with two-story wings flanking the east and west sides. The Commissioners Court, judge, sheriff, and other county officials prepared to visit several recent courthouses and jails for ideas, including those in Uvalde, San Antonio, and Eagle Pass. At some point, the county had changed their original plans, because by the time the plans were approved the jail was included within the courthouse building. Of those 75 locals, forty men were hired at 25 cents an hour, selected through a simple but effective process. Menard’s courthouse square consists of two full blocks of land, bisected from west to east by a c.1875 irrigation canal (contributing), commonly known as “the ditch” or “the big ditch,” which extends from five miles above Menard to five miles below and irrigates 2,000 acres of land. He received no formal architectural training and is believed to have gained his architectural knowledge through apprenticeships and correspondence courses. A request had already been made, in July 1931, to donate the stone from the 1885 courthouse and jail to the Pioneer Rest Cemetery, which was the course of action chosen by the Commissioners. The width of the bays varies across the elevation, in an A-B-A-B-A pattern. The request stated that, “the cost of construction and equipment of the proposed new Court House and Jail will be paid for as follows, to wit: Seventy Thousand Dollars ($70,000.00) in cash, and the balance necessary to be added to this sum to equal the contract price to be paid by the issuance and delivery to the contractor by the Commissioner’s Court legally issued interest-bearing warrants, etc.” As concern for the cost grew, a petition was presented to the Court, signed by 290 citizens, requesting that the Court not issue deficiency warrants without prior approval from the voters. The clay tile walls are sheathed in multiple shades of brick, arranged randomly, and decorated with cast stone detailing. Elmer George Withers (1881-1938), listed as E. G. Withers in the Commissioners Court minutes, was born in 1881 in Caddo Peak, Texas. The side elevations offer the clearest view of the building’s stepped massing. Locate Menard real estate and other county court records held by the County Clerk including birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses, and divorce records. The 1931 Mendard County Courthouse sits at the south end of a long, narrow square in Menard, a town along the San Saba River in Central Texas. Rumors soon circulated that the Commissioners Court was planning to spend between $125,000 and $140,000, based on the request for bids. (Robinson 1983: 262-269) The Menard County Courthouse is an excellent example of the style’s swift and widespread adoption, even in more isolated rural counties. Four months later, on September 14, 1931, the West Texas Utilities Company of Menard was awarded a $750 contract for electrical lights and fixtures. During the summer months, the swimming pool is a popular attraction, and its location on the courthouse square reinforces the courthouse’s significant role in the community. Despite the introduction of limited oil and gas production in the 1940s, ranching has consistently dominated the Menard County economy. Although the 1930 Fort Worth directory listed the firm as Withers & Thompson, Withers was listed individually in both the 1928 and the 1931 directories. As the county seat, Menard continues to serve primarily as a supporting center of commerce for the area’s agricultural economy, but tourism is an increasingly important industry for the town and county. The Commissioners Court seems to have been continually issuing extra warrants to pay for items that were not included in the construction bid, such as furniture and plumbing. In addition to a good deal of interior painting, a suspended ceiling was added to the county judge’s office and the county courtroom, and floor tile was laid in many rooms. (Labeled as the “Witness Room” on the existing second-floor plan.). Even in the 1980s, approximately 94 percent of the county’s land was in farms and ranches, and roughly 96 percent of agricultural receipts came from livestock and livestock products. The old jail cells will be used.” Porter also reassured the reporter that he would use local labor whenever possible. General Contractor: E. D. Porter The section of the canal that passes through the square is lined on both sides with concrete and crossed by several small concrete pedestrian bridges. He died on December 30, 1938. The three central bays of the two-story wing are taller than the outer two, stepping up toward the central four-story mass. A small apartment, which served as the jailer’s quarters, was added to the fourth floor in 1940. Although it illustrates a common approach to courthouse design in the period, the building’s stepped massing and strong formal statement are atypical, revealing the architect’s exposure to and sophisticated understanding of the style. The Commissioners Court accepted the construction contract on March 23, 1931. A simple square boiler chimney is also visible rising from the rear. He moved to Fort Worth in 1910, where he began a solo practice. A gas station now occupies the site. How was I chosen? The building’s gabled roof, including the gable ends and small knee walls, is sheathed in corrugated metal. The two-story stone courthouse, which featured a prominent central tower, was built on the current courthouse square near the canal. Although the new courthouse and jail were originally scheduled to be completed on October 25, 1931, the paper reported in October that the buildings would not be ready for move-in until November 15. The jail was reportedly a dungeon, in the building’s northwest corner, into which prisoners were lowered and from which they could not escape without a ladder. County Seat: Menard The San Saba River and its valley, which bisect Menard County from west to east, have supported human habitation for thousands of years. Withers, with his partner Jesse Thompson, the courthouse followed contemporary trends in courthouse design, uniting traditional features with the “modernistic” forms and ornamental vocabulary of Art Deco architecture. Yet another contract for roof repair was let in January 1947, to William Braley, before a major re-roofing project was undertaken in 1949. Building Materials/Description: Vernacular, wood picket, Building Completion Date: 1886 According to the newspaper, the Commissioners signed a statement that they would not enter into a contract exceeding $100,000, but this was not confirmed by the Commissioners Court minutes. If any of these apply to you, contact the court to verify they observe the exemption. It should come as little surprise then, that the two Texas county courthouses most comparable to that of Menard, Voelker and Dixon’s 1930 Cottle County Courthouse and Lang and Witchell’s 1928 Eastland County Courthouse, were designed by prominent firms from the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Beyond its formal role as the center of county government, the courthouse and its square represent the heart of public life in Menard County. William J. Vaughn, with partners William Tipton and James Comstock, established the Vaughn Agricultural and Mechanical Canal Company, in 1874. 2nd Floor, Menard County Courthouse Phone: (217) 632-2615 Fax: (217) 632-4124 Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. *Not location specific. Mr. Commissioners Bob Lott, Jeff The Menard Messenger also reported on March 12 that, “several thousand dollars worth of marble was eliminated; a high-powered heating system was left out, a water cooling system was omitted; the cost of a tower clock was stricken off; and the jail fixtures originally included were disposed of. He established his own firm, Elmer G. Withers Architectural Company, Inc., in 1928. It is named for Michel Branamour Menard, the founder of Galveston, Texas. The roof was still covered under a 10-year warranty, so the county only paid for two yards of gravel. http://www.state.il.us/court/CircuitCourt/CircuitMap/8th.asp#Menard, The Public Access to Court Records (PACER). Throughout its decades in the courthouse, the library added depth and continuity to the community’s use of the building. The style is representative of the progressivism that defined the era, in which erecting a courthouse with a novel, “modernistic” design became a public assertion of the county’s commitment to growth and improvement. The similarly styled stone jail was at the southern end of the square, near the site of the current courthouse. It is also nominated under Criterion C in the area of Architecture at the local level of significance, as a well-executed example of Texas’s early modern courthouses. The United States government established their own military fort, Camp San Saba, in what is now the western end of Menard County in 1852. This bid was for the building and all built-in fixtures, not including plumbing, heating or moveable furniture. On Thursday, October 16, 1930, the paper reported reasons why the citizens of Menard should vote for a new courthouse. COUNTY OF MENARD ) ) S.S. STATE OF ILLINOIS ) The Menard County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday, September 29, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. at the Menard County Courthouse, 102 S. Seventh Street, Petersburg, Illinois. Architect: Elmer George Withers Simpson, a consulting structural engineer from San Antonio, was called in to determine the best depth for the footings. The canal remains in use today, still fed by its original dam. Present Status: Gone Construction soon began on a single, gravity-flow canal fed by the San Saba River, which eventually extended from five miles above Menardville to five miles below, passing through the center of town. Menardville established itself early on as the county’s commercial center, with 300 residents by the early 1890s. Its continued use as a courthouse has clearly maintained its integrity of association. It was also mentioned that, without a new courthouse, the county would still have to spend at least $5,000 on a new vault. A public privy was also erected for $209 by Scruggs & Schuchard. Call, or visit the court's website if listed above. Call, or visit the court's website if listed above. Menard County first elected its own officials in 1871, and their first meetings were held in a picket house at the corner of San Saba Street and Ellis Street. Please be advised that a meeting of the Menard County Board of Review has been scheduled for Monday, February 8, 2021. To pay for the furniture, Menard County Courthouse Equipment Warrants in the amount of $4,000 were issued at 6 % interest to mature over 4 years. Although not uncommon in Art Deco buildings, the pre-Colombian influence illustrates Withers’s deeper understanding of the style’s precedents and creative possibilities. Elmer J. Withers of the Fort Worth firm Withers and Thompson, designed the new courthouse with a ⦠Let us know here, Montgomery County Courthouse120 N. Main Street, Room 1250.0 mile away, McDonough County Courthouse#1 Courthouse Square0.0 mile away, Bond County Courthouse200 West College11.3 miles away, © 2020 Everything-Bytes | Terms of Use & Privacy Policy. A total of 512 votes were received with 270 votes FOR and 242 votes AGAINST the bond. Menard County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas.As of the 2010 census, its population was 2,242. Petersburg, IL 62675-0466 Although the original transom is in place, the rear entry door has been replaced with a non-historic aluminum door and sidelights. Seventy-five men and boys showed up at the ground breaking looking for work. Settlement in the county, and especially around Menardville, was boosted in the 1870s by the construction of a ten-mile irrigation canal. Withers designed the Menard County Courthouse during a brief partnership with Jesse C. Thompson. The report found that the vault space was inadequate to hold all the county records, bats and mites were prevalent, wind penetrated the courthouse through the windows and cupola, and holes pierced the floor of the District Courtroom. That decision was reversed in August 1938, however, when a petition was made to the court for an urgent need to use the “dungeon,” and it continued to be used thereafter. This photo is in 7 groups Illinois Flickrjournal 115,732 items Architecture of Illinois 3,503 items Architecture of Days Gone By 235,176 items Building with Stone 19,848 items buildings are beautiful 124,358 items Sky & Cloud Junkies (Please follow the rules :) 217,079 items Menard County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois.According to the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 12,705. The Menard County Courthouse’s dramatic stepped massing is a particularly striking feature of its design. The form of the Menard County Courthouse is composed from several distinct masses of differing heights. (Cohen 1988: 24, Menard Messenger). STATE OF ILLINOIS ) The Menard County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday, July 28, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. at the Menard County Courthouse, 102 S. Seventh Street, Petersburg, Illinois. A set of steps, flanked by low concrete walls, leads up to the entrance, and a wheelchair ramp has been added up the center of the steps. Additional cast stone details decorate the front (north) façade of the Menard County Courthouse.
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