Michigan's County Courthouses

Lenawee County

102 ADRiAN—There is hardly a spot in lenawee County one cannot see from the tower atop its historic courthouse. Capping the -foot tower is a -foot pole prominently displaying the American flag all day and night. The flag always flies because getting it up the pole involves a herculean effort featuring at least one trapdoor resembling a box top and several staircases—wooden, spiral , and aluminum. if by chance one of the fastens goes loose and the flag flies improperly,concerned citizens intent on not desecrating Old Glory lobby local leaders to rent a crane and correct the situation. On at least one occasion, it was the dead of winter, and the job had to wait until a warm day made the task feasible. During times of mourning, no flag flies atop the tower because it is not equipped to fly the flag at half-mast. instead, a different flag pole on the eastern grounds of the building flies half-staff. Pride in the flag is but one example of how lenawee spared no expense on its shining symbol on a hill. lenawee County was first settled in . A group of about twenty people almost exclusively from Jefferson County in upstate New York founded Tecumseh. One of their leaders, General Joseph W. Brown, met with lewis Cass, the territorial governor . According to one account, Cass chose the name lenawee, which came from the Shawnee word for “men” or “the people.”When asked later by someone where Tecumseh was, Brown replied, “thirty miles from Monroe and forty miles beyond God’s blessing.” Brown’s wanderlust later led him to Texas, where one of his sons fought at the Alamo. The departure of Brown, who had some political clout, along with the central location of Adrian and the arrival of a railroad line there, convinced Michigan’s first legislature, heeding a strong lobbying effort from Adrian, to make Adrian the seat of lenawee County. Adrian’s first courthouse was built in . it had a short life, burning down early in the morning on Sunday, March , . The fire happened during the trial of a man accused of murdering his wife. local lore attributed the fire to the man’s brother. According to one account, the building “burned up about : a.m. by some unhung scoundrel.” No photograph, drawing, or detailed verbal description of the two-story building is known to exist. For the next thirty-three years, lenawee County had no permanent courthouse. Millage proposals failed Lenawee County lENAWEE COuNTY 103 lENAWEE COuNTY because voters outside of Adrian had little interest in subsidizing what they considered a proposal to benefit Adrian. Finally, the city of Adrian offered an additional $, if the county would contribute $,. The additional funds from Adrian paid for much of the decorative and ornamental elements of the building. The difference is apparent if one compares the courthouse with its twin in northwest Ohio’s Paulding County. Edward Oscar Fallis of Toledo designed both structures in the Romanesque style, beginning and completing the one in Ohio shortly after construction in Adrian ended in . But the courthouse in Adrian was completed with an eye toward both form and function. Better yet, it came in just under budget. A line of Michigan sandstone covers the foundation. The bulk of the exterior is dark brick. A strip of glazed blue tiles wraps like a ribbon around the lower part of the building . Granite columns support the large archways. Terracotta friezes appear liberally, depicting a flaming torch (justice ), an upraised hand (mercy), the American eagle, Chief Tecumseh, and the Goddess of Agriculture, among other things. The last item has continued relevance, as lenawee County is heavily farmed. Predominant crops include wheat, corn, and beans. indeed, the county flag’s principal symbol is three shafts of wheat. Other than recent renovation of the steps, the outside of the courthouse is virtually unchanged since it was dedicated . The interior, however, has evolved dramatically. The grand staircases and some of the decorative plaster and paint on the walls are substantially the same. But elsewhere new walls and ceilings were added to create necessary office space. Fire regulations required the elimination of large open spaces, obscuring the once visible tower interior from the lower parts of the courthouse. Extensive heating and air conditioning machinery are tucked along with storage items in the large attic area. An elevator was added. One of the courtrooms was converted into office space. The other courtroom is now the meeting location of the...