Michigan's County Courthouses

Dickinson County

47 IroN mouNtaIN—the proud home of sports figures tom Izzo and steve marriuci is also home to a more-thanpresentable courthouse. Dickinson County was the last of michigan’s eighty-three counties to organize,which it did in 1891. It was named for Donald m. Dickinson, a prominent Detroit attorney who served as postmaster general during the first administration of Grover Cleveland (1885–89). Iron mountain was the center of commerce and was the natural choice for the county seat. Within five years of its organization,Dickinson County erected its courthouse and jail. the jail, a castlelike wing attached to the courthouse, was in a state of disrepair in the early 1970s when the michigan Department of Corrections threatened condemnation. the jail moved to a new facility in 1975, leaving the old jail abandoned and crumbling. Dickinson County let it languish until 1979, when water damage and general disrepair posed a safety threat. the county made a fateful choice. It decided to renovate rather than to raze. at a final cost of over $1.8 million, which included federal funding, the jail was spared, and it now houses county administrative offices. on may 15, 1980, the courthouse and jail were added to the National register of historic Places. the exterior is made of rock-faced brick trimmed with Portage entry sandstone and a slate roof. massive granite columns support the grand archway above the front entrance. the architectural style is richardsonian romanesque. the interior at the time of unveiling featured hardwood finishing and oak doors. Presently, the interior is significantly modernized. upon completion of the courthouse, a local newspaper reported on the first seventeen cases on the court’s docket. the cryptic reports listed the names of the parties and the type of case.among them were a divorce action, a charge of violation of liquor laws, and “bastardy.” more detail was provided for a case that the author deemed the “most interesting and sensational.” It was a slander action: Ex-Editor Fitzgibbon v. Ed. Harvey. the Dickinson County DICKINsoN CouNty 48 author commented on the caliber of the lawyers on both sides, writing that the arguments would be interesting to hear, which may have prompted some readers to attend and visit Dickinson County’s newest venue for trial practice, which some consider a performing art. Dickinson County nearly made one of the workers who helped to build the courthouse and jail the first inhabitant of the latter. Doro bussetti was found guilty of assault and battery and ordered to pay a fine and costs in the amount of $8.75. he had no money and appealed to friends in court for assistance, which was not forthcoming. after an hourlong search he, according to a local newspaper , “grew despondent and informed the officer in charge that he might as well lock him up.” but bussetti happened upon a friend in front of the courthouse who paid bussetti’s fine. Instead, the honor of inaugurating Dickinson County’s jail fell upon an unfortunate lumberjack named edward Goodrich. Goodrich was found late one night wandering the streets dazed and covered in frozen blood from deep gashes on his head and face. he apparently squandered in the span of three hours the money that he had earned and saved in the past three months. he was found guilty of being drunk and disorderly. unable to pay the fine, he was sentenced to fifteen days in jail. the account ran under the following headlines: “First boarder . . . he Was howling Drunk.” sheriff Charles anderson required early prisoners to earn their day’s rations of mush, milk, cold turkey, and mince pie. While wearing a ball and chain, each prisoner helped to clear the debris left behind by the builders of the court and jail. a local report lamented the fact that the ball and chain limited the work that each prisoner could do, yet concluded, “the amount of labor accomplished by the prisoners is very gratifying when the cost is taken into consideration .” later, prisoners assisted in the landscaping of the grounds surrounding the complex. In February 1912 the courthouse nearly burned to the ground. the fire was detected in the basement and originated at or near the furnace. the whole building filled with a dense smoke. When it cleared after the fire was extinguished , damage was estimated to total $2,150 to $3,200, well under the $49,000 of insurance covering the building at the time. In spite of the threat of...