Our Past Is Present December 3, 2018

December 3, 2018

            You are reading “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.

            The first courthouse in Davis County (now Geary County) was also used as a church, a school house, the land office, a community hall where theatricals had been performed and the upper room had housed the first printing office of George W. Martin’s “Smoky Hill” and “Republican Union” newspapers.  It was located on East Eighth Street where the current courthouse now stands. 

            By 1898 and during a trial that attracted many spectators, and the fact that one-third of the plaster had fallen from the ceiling in the clerk of the district court and register of deeds office, the citizens of Junction City were determined to have a new courthouse and jail built. 

            The decision was made to purchase the two lots west of the existing courthouse on 8^th Street and raze the old building to make way for the new.  By December 29 of 1899, the roof was on and the heating plant was ready to be fire lighted. There was an intent by some to have a clock in the tower of the building, but that didn’t become a reality. 

            After nine months of watching and waiting, it would have seemed that a grand celebration would have been planned to open the new building, but that was not the case.  The opening of the courthouse was in May of 1900 and done without much fanfare.  On May 14 of 1900, Judge Moore opened court in the new building and the American flag was suspended from the 28 foot flag pole atop the tower a distance of 135 feet from the ground.  This was the only ceremonial act to mark the building’s completion.

We have a picture of the courthouse in the process of being built in 1899 in the lobby area of our Museum.  Stop by and take a look.  And...that’s our story on “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.