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Washtenaw County
- University of Michigan Press
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179 ANN ARBoR—in an arbor in a far-off land stands a court whose contours its predecessor shaped while making way for parking, a perennial problem in this now-congested county seat. Washtenaw’s name derives from Washtenong, the native name for the grand River. Apart from grand, some believe that the word means “land beyond.” the territorial government drew the county boundaries in . the county was organized on November , , and originally attached to Wayne County.years passed before it erected its first courthouse. instead, court convened first at the home of erastus Priest in January , when the county population was about ,. in the same year, John Allen donated land for a courthouse, fulfilling a condition for Ann Arbor to become the county seat. Ann Arbor’s name derives from the common first name of two early settlers’ wives and from the abundant groves or arbors of oaks that welcomed them. in John Bryant erected the first courthouse, which was to last forty-four years. A lithograph depicts the greek Revival two-story wooden frame structure, which was painted white with rows of windows and a darker peaked roof. Above the entrance stood a small hexagonal cupola. the courtroom was on the second floor, while the first housed county offices. Money by subscription paid for a fence, trees, and the leveling of surrounding ground. For years the county was dissatisfied with the building , but the cost of new construction deterred any action. it welcomed delegates from all over in Michigan in september to discuss an offer from Congress to resolve the boundary dispute with ohio and bring Michigan into the Union. A historical marker notes that this “Convention of Assent” rejected the proposal but later accepted the congressional plan at the “Frostbitten Convention” on the bitterly cold December . Michigan entered the Union on January , . in the same year Ann Arbor welcomed the University of Michigan, which would grow into a massive center of education and research that is synonymous with the city’s name. settlement grew with the paths of two major roadways that ran through Ann Arbor to Chicago—the territorial and the Chicago Roads. in Ann Arbor offered $, if the county would spend $, on a building. Later the city increased the windfall to $, on the condition that it received a council room in the new structure. Voters in the spring of approved a $, loan. the county laid the cornerstone on october , . g. W. Bunting of indianapolis was the architect. McCormick & sweeney of Columbus, indiana, was the general contractor. the building cost $, and measured 80 by by feet, with a tower rising feet from the basement. the building featured brick walls nearly three feet thick and trimmed with stone. the basement walls were stone. the roof was slate and ironwork made up the cornices and stairs. A total of ,, bricks made by Joseph Andet of Ann Arbor were used, of which , had to be pressed brick of uniform color and quality. the county paid $. for every thousand bricks. each corner of the building had a small tower. Between each pair of towers stood a figure of justice. Luther thomas donated money to install a seth thomas eight-day clock. Washtenaw County WAsHteNAW CoUNty 180 WAsHteNAW CoUNty it had a six-and-a-half-foot illuminated French plate dial that was three-eighths of an inch thick and featured a two thousand-pound bell. the bell from the old court went to the third Ward school. in the s the county faced a dilemma. it wanted a new courthouse, but it feared that the terms of Allen’s gift of land prohibited it from keeping the land or profiting from its sale if it moved the courthouse. the situation meant that a costly temporary facility might be required while the empty old court was razed and replaced. But Ralph s. gerganoff, the architect, found a solution. He designed an L-shaped building that hugged the old courthouse, within a foot at some points. the cornerstone for the new building was placed in . the building was completed a year later, at which point many of the contents of the old building were simply handed from window to window. the old building was razed and its footprint paved over into a parking lot, which is now a valued commodity in downtown Ann Arbor. the interior features a variety of courtrooms, some of which are twins with high ceilings and distinctive stone facades behind the judge’s bench. the exterior of the...