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THE BEGINNINGS OF THE COUNTY COURT HOUSE Courtesy of The History of Allegan The county of Allegan paid out $32 in rent for the use of the first schoolhouse in the village to serve as a court room from the organization of the county through the years 1837 and 1838. County buildings lacked the character of permanence and adequacy during the first few years. The inevitable schoolhouse had multiple uses in those days, and the first temple of justice was likewise the building where the pioneer children met for instruction and where on other days divine worship was held. This schoolhouse that must go down in history as Allegan's first court house stood, when built, on the south side of Trowbridge street, just east of Pine street. At the time of the laying of the corner stone of the present beautiful court house, Mr. Phillip Padgham, in an address, referred to the old structure as follows: "It now stands in plain view of us all, on the south side of Hubbard street, directly across from this public square, and is occupied by James Forward as a salesroom for agricultural implements. Its age is an excuse for its appearance, and its size compares with that of its new rival relatively as the amount of business to be transacted therein. It has outlived many of the pioneers who built and used it, and is one of the few landmarks remaining that remind us of the early history and struggles of the heroic little band that located the site of our beautiful village." Only court sessions were held at the schoohouse. Inquiry as to where the various offices of clerk, treasurer, register, etc., were kept leads only to the general anwer that they were kept at the residence or place of business of the incumbent at the time. We can imagine a citizen of the time passing from the office of the county clerk to the treasurer's and going clear across town. The grand jury in 1838 met in a room of the Michigan Exhange, opposite from the northwest corner of the public square. Until 1889 the the word "court house" did not convey the meaning that it did in most counties, denoting the usuallly ample building in which all the courts and the county administration were housed. For many years the courts were held in one place, the county offices were in another, and the jail in still another. Judge Padgham, in the address already quoted, has given the story of the various quarters occupied by the circuit court after it ceased to be held in the school building. "Several terms of the circuit court were held in a building known as the Methodist chapel, which was located near the present site of the Methodist Episcopal church (Trowbridge and Walnut streets). The chapel was afterwards burned down, and the different courts for a time were held in a basement to the building occupied by the jailer. This basement was fitted up for the county offices and was used for county and court purposes. It stood on the north side of Hubbard street in the southwest corner of this public square. The courts were next held in the basement of the Baptist church. The first schoolhouse and courthouse is now remodeled as a dwelling. The houses on both sides have been removed and the land on the east side has been used to expand the public library. The 1838 image of the courthouse is courtesy of the Allegan Library and the image of the courthouse on the right is courtesy of googlemaps. |
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Updated on 11/10/2019
By Lynn Matt