By C. Ross Bloomquist
The present Foster County Courthouse is the second such structure in the county's century of existence. Created in 1883, Foster County consists of eighteen townships and is located in central North Dakota; Carrington, the county seat, is only six miles from the western boundary. The county's first courthouse, a frame building erected in 1887, was located in the "center of town" adjacent to the Northern Pacific Railway station and across the street from the Kirkwood Hotel and the business establishments along Main Street and Fifth (now Central Avenue). On a sub-zero night, January 17, 1907, the depot caught fire and burned to the ground. The courthouse, no more than 50 feet distant, was in imminent danger; fortunately, the winds carried the flames in another direction.
Local residents realized immediately that the courthouse was not a safe depository for the county records, and within a few weeks agitation for an up-to-date, fireproof courthouse began in earnest. Several stop-gap plans were suggested to the commissioners, such as building exterior fireproof vaults or an addition to the building. Carrington businessmen formed a committee to promote erection of an entirely new courthouse on a different site. They petitioned the county commissioners to call a special election to approve a $75,000 bond issue for that purpose. The three commissioners, Wendelin
Zink of Bordulac, Kenneth Ferguson of Rose Hill Township, and Homer S. Ballard of McHenry, unanimously agreed that a new, fireproof courthouse was essential. A special election on June 28, 1907, was ordered by the commissioners to decide the proposition of approving the issuance of bonds in the amount of $75,000 for a new courthouse and jail.
The Carrington businessmen were enthusiastic supporters of a new courthouse building. Three weeks before the election twenty agreed to bond themselves in the amount of $2,000 to "convey and deliver" to the county a tract of land consisting of one city block suitable for a courthouse, provided, of course, that the proposed bond issue carried the June 28 election. However, strong opposition to the bond issue came from residents of the county's eastern townships. They declared that the cost was too high, but the fact that they were so far distant from the county seat may also have influenced their opinion. There was no direct railroad connection between McHenry and Carrington, and the 30-mile trip with horse and buggy consumed two days of travel time.
The election on June 28, 1907, resulted in approval of the bond issue by a narrow margin, 585 to 498. Clearly, the residents of Carrington carried the day; voters in rural precincts opposed the measure by 2 to 1. In fact, the county's nine eastern townships were nearly unanimous in voting "no" (17 to 399).
The opposition did not accept the defeat without a fight. Almost immediately the legality of the election was challenged in court. On August 7, 1907, Glenfield Township landowner George P. Cross filed a complaint alleging that the present courthouse was adequate and not exposed to extraordinary risk from fire, that the Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners had not signed the resolution ordering the auditor to proceed with the Special Election for the approval of the bond issue, that the wording of the question on the ballot involved two questions (courthouse and/or jail) and the voter could therefore not exercise any independent choice, and that the proposal of the Carrington businessmen unduly influenced the voters. Cross asked the Court to restrain the county commissioners from issuing or selling the bonds. The commissioners, of course, denied all allegations.
The case tried before Judge Charles A. Pollock of the Third Judicial District at Fargo. The plaintiff, George C. Cross, was represented by attorney Sidney E. Ellsworth of Jamestown; in the action Cross was joined by two sureties, Halvor S. Halvorson, and Francis R. Cruden, both from the McHenry area. Thomas F. McCue of Carrington and Foster County States Attorney John W. White represented the county. Their arguments led to a decision dated December 28, 1907, in which Judge Pollock held that the Foster County Auditor lacked authority to call the special election because the Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners had failed to sign the authorization at the proper time and place. Moreover, the Court declared that the election notice and ballot violated the voter's right to make any independent choices. The decree ignored the other allegations of Cross' original complaint. It did restrain and enjoin the commissioners from selling the bonds. The courthouse proposition was dead.
The courthouse proposition did not return to life until May 1909. Then, a Board of Commissioners consisting of Ferguson, Ballard and new member John Norden of Pleasant Valley called an election for June 29, 1909, to consider the questions of issuing $75,000 in bonds for a new courthouse, jail, and sheriff's residence. Voter participation in this election was not as large, but the majority in favor of the bond issue was greater, 487 for and 282 against. The eastern half of the county still opposed the proposition, and some half-hearted attempts were initiated to obtain an injunction to restrain the commissioners from selling the bonds. When the matter was put before Judge E.T. Burke of Valley City, he refused to enjoin the bond sale.
The commissioners got to work as soon as the votes were counted. At a meeting on July 14, 1909, they ordered the auditor to solicit bids for the purchase of the $75,000 bonds. Only two bids were received and when they were opened on August 14, both were rejected. The commissioners then negotiated with the Board of University and School Lands, and a deal was consummated on August 28. The commissioners engaged Buechner and Orth, St. Paul architects, to draw up plans and specifications for the buildings at this meeting.
The plans submitted by Buechner and Orth were a simplified version of those the firm had already developed for courthouses in Traill and McHenry counties; the resulting building differed only in ornamentation and minor details from other courthouses built in North Dakota and elsewhere between 1904 and 1928. All were inspired by the Beaux Arts Classical Revival developed for the World's Columbian Exposition of 1892-93 in Chicago.
The building that resulted from the plans, the Foster County Courthouse, is a strictly symmetrical structure, 91 feet 6 inches by 62 feet 8 inches, with the tip of the finial of the central dome approximately 83 feet above grade level. The two-story with raised basement building is constructed of reinforced concrete, a method of construction used for the first time in the city. The exterior walls from grade level up are faced with buff Hebron brick containing darker flecks. The pediment over the front entrance facing south is supported on each side by single columns with capitals of mixed style. The architect's sketch also shows clock faces on the four sides of the octagonal drum supporting the dome, but they were not included in the final specifications. The light coming through the drum windows and the circular apertures at the base of the dome falls into the rotunda through a central skylight of stained glass in shades of green and brown. The skylight is surrounded by four oil paintings depicting the early history of the county.
The precise symmetry of the exterior is carried over to the interior of the first floor. Short corridors lead east and west from the spacious rotunda to the offices of the Auditor, treasurer, County Judge, Clerk of Court, and Registrar of Deeds. The last has a smaller adjoining room for abstracters, and a Commissioners' Room is placed at the opposite end of the corridor between the treasurer's and Auditor's offices. The entire west side of the second floor is the courtroom, with judge's chambers and jury room along the north side. Offices for the Superintendent of Schools and the States Attorney occupy the remainder of the floor.
All the corridors and public spaces of the first and second floor have terrazzo surfaces and marble wainscoting. The east side of the basement floor provides offices for the Justice of Peace and the County Surveyor. The entire west end is an open space for a public meeting room. Restrooms and additional storage vaults are also located on this level of the building.
The sheriff's residence and jail, a two-story structure faced with buff brick matching that of the larger building, stands inconspicuously to the north, but is completely separated from the courthouse. The northern part of the residence contains living quarters for the sheriff and his family; it is a conventionally-arranged residence with three bedrooms and bath on the second floor. The main entrance through a porch is on the north with a rear door on the west side.
The jail is constructed of reinforced concrete with four cells and additional space for the sheriff's office and equipment on the first floor. A secure space on the second floor is for additional prisoners. The outside entrance to the jail part of the building is on the east side. There is no passageway between the jail and the courthouse except through the public corridors of the latter building. The heating plant for both structures is located in the basement of the jail. An octagonal stack about 45 feet high stands along the west wall of the building.
On August 28, 1909, the auditor was ordered to advertise for bids for the construction of the courthouse, and jail and sheriff's residence. Two separate bids were requested: one for the complete structures, including the dome, and one for the dome separately. Seven bids were opened on October 1, 1909. For the complete structure, the bids ranged from $73,546 to $60,462; for the dome the highest was $2,600 and lowest $1,250. The bid from Alex Nelson of Perham, Minnesota, for $59,235 without the dome was accepted. Although two bids were lower, the commissioners apparently accepted Nelson's because he was ready to start work immediately. At the same meeting the commissioners also awarded the contract for iron work in the jail to the Diebold Safe and Lock Company for $3,849.
Initially, questions within the city of Carrington about the site cause some discussion. The old site, though much too small, was considered because even in 1909 no other plot was available near the business district. A second site on Main Street, west of the Northern Pacific Railway tracks, was offered but after investigation the commissioners found that adjoining property belonged to a speculator. Charles W. Reichert offered a location in the southeastern part of town for $1.00, but it was also rejected. Some even suggested building at a rural location elsewhere in the county; this idea, however, led Carrington businessmen to propose to underwrite purchase of a site in the city for no more than $3,000. The commissioners accepted the offer and decided to build five blocks (one third of a mile) north of the old Main Street courthouse in a virtually empty part of town.
The chosen location consisted of Blocks 103 and 104 in Moore's Addition to the Original Townsite. The street, Fifth Avenue (now Central Avenue), between the two blocks was vacated by the Carrington City Council to provide a space 300 by 666 feet. The courthouse was to be placed in -the center of the site so that the front entrance faced south; from the opposite direction, the building was to appear- symmetrical with the center of the street.
This location brought much criticism. Critics thought the site was too far from the center of business activities. However, the editor of the Independent, a little more far-sighted than most, saw the possibilities as soon as the dome was taking shape. "Nothing definite can be done for several months," he wrote, "The Independent suggests that at a proper time the city officials of Carrington and the property owners along Fifth united to make the avenue a beautiful shaded approach to the new courthouse". He went on to suggest improvements and grading of the dirt street and shade tree plantings, asserting that the courthouse "could make a stately magnificent background for the Appian Way.",
Alex Nelson, the contractor, began excavations for the courthouse in September 1909. By mid November all foundation work had been completed. Work was suspended for the Winter, and began again during the first week of April 1910. Progress was delayed slightly at times due to slow delivery of bricks too, difficulties in obtaining the proper facing brick from the factory necessitated that the commissioners make a trip by train to Hebron. The selected brick was described as "a slight buff color with large black specks and will give the new building a beautiful appearance." All problems, however, were overcome. Early in May a date was chosen for cornerstone laying ceremonies, and programs showing the old and new courthouse structures were sent to every taxpayer in the county.
The cornerstone ceremony was a gala affair attended by about 2,000 people on May 25, a warm late Spring day, After opening prayers, music by the New Rockford Cornet Band (the Carrington Band was disorganized and leaderless), and selections by the High School Girls' Chorus, the Reverend Robert Paton of the Congregational Church read a history of Foster County written by early settler Henry A. Soliday.
Edgar R. Bradley, representing the county's eastern townships which had opposed the new courthouse, also spoke briefly; he noted that the former opponents would take defeat graciously and remain boosters for the county. "Grace City," said Bradley, "is engaged in laying out blocks and one had been reserved for courthouse purposes." To Bradley's way of thinking, "it is only a matter of years when the taxpayers will be called upon to stand the expense of moving the new Temple of Justice to Grace City."
Governor John Burke gave the main address of the day and extolled the virtues and resources of the state. After the Governor's speech, Homer S. Ballard, Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, placed the cornerstone. It contained copies of the five Foster County newspapers, coins of all denominations, and a list of state and county officials. The names of the county commissioners, the architect, and the contractor are engraved on the stone. The festivities continued into the evening with a reception for the Governor and his wife, speeches, singing, refreshments, and dancing.
By the summer of 1910, construction had proceeded far enough for the commissioners to bid installation of plumbing and heating, ventilating, electric wiring, and telephone conduits for the new building. The first bids were all rejected on recommendation of "Ed" Buechner, the architect. New bids were opened on June 24. John E. Holt of St. Paul was awarded the contract for the heating, ventilating, and plumbing for $7,000 and the McQuay Electric Company of Aberdeen, South Dakota, received the contract for the wiring at $737. The commissioners also authorized Alex Nelson to proceed with the construction of the dome at the bid price of $2,600. The editor of the Independent agreed with that action, saying "[The] Dome will give the courthouse a much more imposing appearance and will be worth the cost."
By July, the exterior began to take shape, and at least one local writer was most impressed. "The County is getting the very best in material and workmanship," he commented, and he went on to note that contractor Nelson had refused delivery of the cut granite caps for the entrance pillars because the stonework was incorrect.
The reinforced concrete roof of the courthouse was completed in September and brick work on the dome commenced. Interior work began at about the same time. The plastering contract had been awarded to A.S. Randolph of Detroit, Michigan, in July. Discussion about lighting the building reflected general community feeling that the rates of the local, privately-owned Western Electric Company were too high; both gas and a private electric light plant were considered, but in the end the decision was made to obtain the electricity from the city light plant.
The last major contract lettings took place on December 10, 1910. Bids were opened for fixed and movable furniture for the offices and courtroom, electric light fixtures, and decorating. The Newtown-Hoit Company of Chicago obtained the furniture contract for $3,937.57; the wood was to be 5-ply golden oak finish throughout. The electric light fixture contract went to the Lloyd-Garrett Company for $2,200; this corporation agreed to supply brass work to harmonize with the general scheme of architecture.
The decorating contract was let to Odin T. Oyen of Lacrosse, Wisconsin, for $2,500. Oyen submitted a plan for interior elevations decorated colorfully, including four oil paintings in the dome. The Independent described the plans as including a "typical Foster County farm" and "state resources and industry or episodes in the development of the commonwealth." Other decorating included old gold green color with "fancy scroll work worked around the room for a border with a handsome design on the ceiling," in the courtroom. The corridors were to be ivory or bronze; the rotunda colors were to be gold and brown, and offices for the county officials were to be decorated in neutral shades.
Another detail involved connection with the city of Carrington's water and sewage systems. Though probably not part of the original plans, on December 10, 1910, the county surveyor was instructed to draw specifications for the connections; bids were opened on January 20, 1911, and the contract was awarded to George A. Palmer. The commissioners postponed the work until spring when the ground was no longer frozen. The connections were finally completed on June 1, 1911.
By the end of 1910 all interior work had been completed except final decorating of the hallways and offices. One other minor matter, however, escaped the commissioners' attention until offices in the building were about to be occupied. Then it became evident that all the large windows needed blinds to block glare from the bright winter sun. The commissioners requested bids for this necessity at the January 3, 1911, meeting. When the bids were opened on March 9, longtime Carrington furniture and hardware dealer Walker and Company obtained the contract for $250. The job was finished by the end of the month. This brief episode marked the only participation by a local concern in constructing, decorating, and furnishing the courthouse.
The sheriff's residence was ready for occupancy in January 1911, and Sheriff James J. Atkins, his wife, and eight-month-old son moved in late that month. Other county officials occupied the courthouse early in February. Although the accommodations were spacious compared to those in the old building, the other amenities were far from perfect. The new furniture was not yet at hand, necessitating that the old desks, tables, and files had to be moved in for temporary use. The sewer and water were not yet connected, and any lighting had to be done with lamps because the electric fixtures were still on the way. There was only one telephone for the entire staff of officers and deputies and, of course, there were no curtains to shut out the glare of the late winter sun.
As might be expected, there were complaints from the townspeople. The volume of mail greatly increased; a letter with a two cent stamp was preferable to the walk or drive of five blocks from Main Street since there were no sidewalks and Fifth Street was still unsurfaced. [Local bus line operator James McCoy offered to furnish special service (by horse drawn cab) to ease the problem during district court sessions.
The deficiencies were handled one by one. In March the jail cells were completed; the first occupant was Lee Miller, who had been in the Stutsman County Jail awaiting arraignment for the alleged murder of his father, Ezra J.D. Miller, a prominent farmer and inventor of Nordmore Township. In April the office and courtroom furniture and brass electric fixtures were being installed and the decorators were at work on the rotunda. Practically all work was finished early in May, and the balances due the contractors except for the jail work were paid.
Perhaps the most striking feature of the courthouse was the rotunda. In May 1911, the editor of the Carrington Independent published a lengthy description of the newly-completed segment under the title, "Paintings in Courthouse Dome Portray Four Decades of Progress:"
Foster County's tremendous development in the past four decades has at no time been more forcibly depicted than by the four large oil paintings that have just been put in place in the courthouse. The first painting shows a band of naked Indians in pursuit of a herd of buffalo, ready for the slaughter with bow and arrow.
Then is pictured the arrival of the first settlers in prairie schooners pulled by oxen bringing the few personal effects of the pioneers who would start the civilization in the county. A typical farm scene of the homestead period occupies the third position. The sturdy young farmer is shown plowing the first few furrows in the virgin soil. In the background is the familiar one-room shack and nearby is a sod barn. The fourth painting is one of a present-day Foster County farm with a comfortable home and a big red barn. The painting is true to life with the buildings on the T.D. Lewis farm near Bordulac. Prominently in the foreground is shown a group of peaceful dairy cattle. The paintings are well-executed and have been admired by scores of citizens this week. The work is by [Axel E.] Soderberg of LaCross Wisconsin.
The balance of the decorating of the dome and rotunda will be finished this week. Roman gold, ivory and terra cotta are the colors being used in the panels while the four supporting columns of the dome will be finished in imitation of the Masota marble that is used for the wainscoting and base boards in the building.
In the four panels at second floor level mottoes are to be engrossed. The four selected are:
'With malice toward none, with charity for all.'
'Justice to give every man his own.'
'Without labor nothing prospers.'
'The farmers are the founders of civilization and prosperity.'
The mottoes are quotations of Lincoln, Aristotle, Sophocles, and Webster, respectively. Illuminated seals of the United States and the State of North Dakota, two each, have been painted on the dome between the panels containing the oil scenes. The work of the artist that is now being done will give the magnificent new building its crowning beauty."
Final settlement of the heating and plumbing contracts was not made until the systems proved to function properly. The last finishing touch on the building was probably the installation of the ornamental light standards on either side of the front entrance steps in August 1911. Landscaping was delayed until the next year when the commissioners contracted with the Northwest Nursery of Valley City to furnish and plant trees and keep them up for two years. This final act established the modern courthouse grounds and ended construction activity.
There were no ceremonies or an open house to celebrate completion of the new courthouse. From inception of the idea that a safe, fire-proof location for the county records was essential to the final landscaping took just a few months over five years.
Source: A History of Foster County 1983 Page 143