COTTONWOOD FALLS
Roberta Allen, 85, of Cottonwood Falls, can remember growing up around the Chase County Courthouse. Her father spent 32 years as the custodian there.
Having grown up at the courthouse it only seemed fitting that Allen, who also spent 26 1/2 years as the Chase County register of deeds, cut the ribbon on Saturday afternoon for the grand re-opening ceremonies for the courthouse. A comprehensive restoration project was completed recently and the public gathered to celebrate the restoration of the oldest operating courthouse in Kansas. Also celebrating a grand reopening was Jim Bell & Son, which opened in Cottonwood Falls in 1927 and was recently reopened under new owners.
Cottonwood Falls was bursting with activity most of the day Saturday. During the morning hours and part of the afternoon Jim Bell & Son staged re-enactments of old-time shoot-outs and was host to a live radio remote broadcast.
Derrick Doty of Council Grove was one of the men participating in the re-enactments. Doty also works with Jim Bell in the reproduction clothing department, one of the new features of the store.
“Most people have to drive three to four hours to get reproduction clothing,” Doty said. “People are getting more and more interested in that right here.”
Another man named “Cherokee” was participating in Saturday’s shoot-out. To win the shoot-out, participants had to shoot at balloons.
“I usually don’t get beat very often, but this time I did today,” said Cherokee, who is really Charles Bishop of Pomona. “It’s harder to hit the balloons than you think it is.”
Bishop has been doing re-enactments for 30 years. He does cowboy, Civil War and mountain man re-enactments.
Paul Houston of Manhattan has been doing re-enactments for 16 years.
“People that we visit with just take you as you are,” Houston said. “They are non-judgmental. They help you out when you need help.”
Just before 3 p.m. Saturday, all eyes were on the Chase County Courthouse as the courthouse bell rang out in the warm afternoon air. A few people cheered when the bell starting ringing. Then the crowd became mostly silent as the bell rang for several minutes.
The courthouse closed on May 5, 2007, for interior renovation. The courthouse has a rich history in Chase County. A special election was held in August of 1871, 13 years after the county was formed. A majority of the county’s 600 residents approved a $40,000 bond levy for a new courthouse and jail. The land was donated by Isaac Alexander.
John Bannon of Leavenworth was the low bid for the building. He chose John Haskell of Lawrence as the architect. The courthouse was built with limestone, which was hauled by horse-drawn wagons. The courthouse was completed on Oct. 8, 1873. The jail in the courthouse housed inmates until it was forced to close by state statute in the mid 1970s.
Following the closure of the courthouse in 2007, courthouse employees were moved to the Cottonwood Falls Municipal Building. The courthouse’s renovation was done in phases. The first phase included the roof. The second phase included the exterior then the retaining wall. The final phase was the extensive renovation of the interior, which included removal of plaster, stripping of woodwork and repainting of woodwork. There’s also a new elevator and all new heating and cooling system, along with new wiring.
The Chase County Courthouse Preservation Committee was in charge of Saturday’s celebration. Following the bell ringing, the Chase County All Veterans Memorial Color Guard posted the flags and the “Star Spangled Banner” was sung by Sara Priest Bays. A cannon salute was fired by the Historical Civil War Re-enactors: 3rd Kansas Light Artillery, Battery B. Alan Phipps, Courthouse Preservation Committee chairman, welcomed people to the courthouse grounds. Phipps said the courthouse renovation was supported by donors, without the assistance of a mill levy hike.
Following opening remarks, the courthouse ribbon was cut by Allen. She was assisted by a child, Bethany Peters of Bazaar. Bethany is the daughter of David and Haley Peters.
Following the ceremony, Allen talked about why she wanted to cut the ribbon.
“I especially wanted to do this,” she said. “I wanted to do it to honor him (her father, Harry Hudson).”
Allen said her father was a very hard worker.
“For 32 years, he was there. In those times, he mowed the yard with a push lawn mower,” she said.
Allen said her father made $65 a month as custodian of the courthouse and he supported a family of eight children on that salary.
“Of course he supplemented his income,” she said. “He had about 14 acres of land on south side of Cottonwood Falls and he had milk cows, pigs and chickens and a garden.”
Allen shared some of her memories growing up around the courthouse.
“(One) thing I used to get to do on the 4th of July ... then he (Hudson) would go up to the top of the courthouse and put the flag up,” Allen said. “You go up on the third floor, from there on, there was a series of ladders that zig zag up. And I used to get to go.”
Allen said she can still see herself on the courthouse grounds as a child.
“I can remember going down to that old building and he’d be out on the yard down on the northwest corner,” she said. “And I could just hear me saying ‘Papa, can I have a ice cream cone?’ They were a nickel. And it wasn’t easy for him to give up a nickel for an ice cream cone. But I usually got it.”
Following opening ceremonies on the lawn of the courthouse, a program was held in the courtroom. Merlin Wheeler, chief judge of the Fifth Judicial District was one of the speakers.
“I can remember when this courtroom had no air conditioning,” Wheeler said. “Then we modernized and got a window air conditioner. But had to take breaks because the air conditioning was so loud we couldn’t hold court proceedings.”
Wheeler commented about practicing law in the courthouse.
“We have the distinction of practicing in the oldest and the newest (Lyon County Courthouse) courthouse,” he said.