Michigan's County Courthouses

Crawford County

43 GraylING—the history of Crawford County demonstrates that a river’s headwaters can be rough. Crawford’s au sable river flows from Grayling to lake huron, and the manistee river heads the other way to lake michigan. the valley between these rivers has seen its ups and down. Crawford County was organized in 1879. For a short while, the area was called brown County. In 1840, the name was changed to shawono, which means southerner, a name given by others to the shawnee tribe. this name was shortlived , as Crawford was chosen for good in 1843. historians are unsure if the county name traces to different land in what was then the Wisconsin territory, or if the intent was to honor Colonel William Crawford. a friend of George Washington, the colonel had been captured and burned at the stake near sandusky, ohio, in 1782. the county was at various times attached to Cheboygan,antrim,and Kalkaska Counties. at first the county seat was in Pere Cheney, a village that grew around the sawmill of G. m. Cheney. Now a ghost town, it was also called Cheney and Center Plains. When the seat moved to Grayling, the railroad gave land for the courthouse. Grayling was platted in 1874 by the saginaw & Jackson railroad. It was named after the grayling trout, an abundant fish in the au sable river. the town was formerly called Crawford and Crawford station. It was incorporated as a city in 1935. Fishermen flock to the county’s rivers every season, contributing to the tourism industry that took root locally. the first courthouse was built in 1879. around this time, the county had a population of 1,159. an early photograph shows that the wooden building stood on a large lawn surrounded by a wooden fence. It was three stories with a dark angled roof, several chimneys, and a tall flagpole rising from behind a small tower atop the building. Its lifespan was brief, as it was burned down on a dark winter’s night in 1902. the culprit was inmate mrs. henderson, who reportedly set her straw mattress on fire. a red brick courthouse with a gray roof was erected in 1909. Its two stories featured arched and rectangular windows. Centered atop the structure was a multilevel bell tower, which dominated the building’s silhouette. bold white letters above the second story and just below the triangular portico spelled “Crawford.”Visitors can see photographs and paintings of this old courthouse in Grayling. the present courthouse was built in 1969 according to the specifications of architects and engineers harley ellington Cowin and stirton, Inc. the general contractor was elzinga and Volker, Inc. the utilitarian one-story building stands on prime sloped land near the river. the light brown exterior is capped with dark brown bands. one of those bands is the background for reminiscent bold white lettering that declares “County building.” a large flagpole anchors the front of the building complex, where a sign directs the public in opposite directions to “Inmate receiving” and “Jail Visiting.” toward the rear of the building , the flagpole finds its counterpart in a tall communications tower. Inside, the main courtroom is spartan, with functional tables, benches, and orange chairs. a simple state seal and the flags of america and michigan frame the modest bench, which looks down upon a minimalist podium and, Crawford County CraWForD CouNty 44 along the wall, a chalkboard. a small aesthetic touch strikes a geometric note behind the bench: protruding wall blocks arrayed in isolated areas with no particular pattern. a younger demographic might be reminded of the elements of the video game tetris. the 46th Circuit Court found itself in a different courtroom in the summer of 2003, when it participated as plaintiff in a six-day trial in Kent County. the defendants were Crawford County, its board of commissioners, and Kalkaska County. otsego County was also involved in the litigation,thoughitsroleendedbeforethetrialonthemerits. the dispute centered upon the funding of court employee health and pension benefits. Fourteen witnesses testified, and 300 exhibits, which measured over 200 inches tall when stacked, were entered into the record. the estimated legal fees were over a million dollars. the plaintiff court won at trial, releasing a posttrial comment quoting lincoln, who believed “in a short statute of limitations in political matters .” the statement ended,“enough is enough.” With the conclusion of the appellate process, the political headwaters of Crawford County again grew calm, as another chapter of the history of the...