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111 Mt. cLeMenS—High atop the clinton River on parcels of choice land stand the triad of buildings that are the seat of the government of Macomb county. their predecessors stood upon the same land, selected by and named for christian clemens, an early settler. the seat was chosen a few months after Macomb county was established by proclamation of the governor on January , . the namesake was general alexander Macomb, born in Detroit in  and later commander of the fort there. He was a friend of governor Lewis cass, who appointed clemens, a nonlawyer, circuit judge for the county. clemens convened the first session of court in his home. He would serve fourteen years. Mt. clemens would later gain national distinction for its mineral baths, earning the nickname“Bath city.”It was also known for a while as a rose capital, until imports from South america outstripped local production. With $ from the Legislature, the county built a simple two-story log structure as the first courthouse. It contained a jail in a small tower, and it also provided space for school, church, and town meetings. It burned down in . Its two-story successor was built in May  by t. P. castle, with William Phelps completing the masonry work for the approximately , bricks used. the building featured four front pillars and a colonial design. around this time, there was a failed effort in the Legislature to move the county seat, a proposition believed advanced by those who favored utica. another effort to move the county seat came in , when Romeo offered $, for construction of a new courthouse. the effort stalled with a tie vote in the board of supervisors. Mt. clemens, for its part, counteroffered $, in bonds and $, in private subscriptions. Mt. clemens won, and Mayor george M. crocker spoke at the laying of the cornerstone on October , . “My friends—all roads lead to the courthouse,” he declared. Indeed, one argument aired against Romeo’s effort was that the network of roads and the location of the grand trunk Railroad advised against moving the seat from Mt.clemens. crocker also recalled the early leaders of the county, who “have crossed the dark and silent river.” the new grand gothic monolith dominated the skyline of Mt. clemens when it was opened in november  at a cost of about $,. architect n. J. Biggs designed the courthouse, which measured about seventy-nine feet on each side. Its large clock tower was imposing, stretchMacomb County MacOMB cOunty 112 ing  feet high in the southwest corner of the building with a statue of justice at its apex. cast iron corinthian columns supported the belfry. the main entrance was framed by symmetrical curved stairways that beckoned the public’s ingress. Outside the building were two ,pound civil War cannons that had defended a fort outside of Philadelphia from the advance of general Robert e. Lee. they were donated to the World War II effort, leaving one troughlike pedestal on the grounds to the present day. there is talk of someday finding guns from the War of  to honor general Macomb. the county did not install a clock in the tower until april , . One source claims it disappeared in  after it was carefully dismantled and placed near the construction site of the next courthouse. another states that the clock went to the World War II effort after local leaders were fed up with the inaccuracy of the four-dial clock and its tendency to strike the bell the wrong number of times. Pranksters,further,made a habit of causing the bell to strike ten to twelve times late at night. the building itself could not keep up with the growth of the county. the courtroom on the third floor, which measured thirty-eight by seventy-six feet and had a ceiling of twenty-four feet, had to be divided to make way for a second circuit court judge. Only fifty years after this courthouse opened, Macomb county began work on the “Million Dollar” replacement: a towering art deco edifice that continues to serve the county. george J. Haas of St. clair Shores designed the  building, and general contractor Otto Misch co. built it. the thirteen-story steel frame structure is lined with gray limestone. Built during the Depression, only five of its floors were furnished and ready for use at its unveiling in . the  courthouse was razed, although its cornerstone was kept and stored but not placed on public display. Subsequent piecemeal projects had the art deco building...

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