Michigan's County Courthouses

Delta County

45 esCaNaba—the Delta County Courthouse of today stands in stark contrast to the one it replaced in 1961. Its predecessor was valued at $20,000 when it was dedicated in 1882 at a time when the county had a population of 6,812. today’s courthouse cost millions if one adds its original cost to renovation and expansion expenditures, and the county population has grown to over 38,000. the old courthouse was built mainly of brick and wood in the Victorian style. It boasted high ceilings, tall windows, and a circular staircase. the current courthouse is modern in design, measuring 263 by 109 feet, and was built at a cost of $680,000, including a $50,000 bequest in the will of the late Catherine bonifas. Its masonry walls and floor and steel-frame roof are meant to be fire resistant. In many ways, the new courthouse took its design cues from the failings of the old courthouse. time was not kind to the old courthouse. after World War II, its grand tower was removed because of increasing structural weakness. In 1957, a local newspaper article indicted the building for passing“its useful days.”the writer described a lack of vault space and fireproofing, inadequate electrical wiring, limited restroom facilities, poor lighting and ventilation, and a shabby appearance due to cracked steps, crumbling mortar, and warped doors. Indeed, it was reported that rainwater damage caused plaster to fall in one of the courtrooms during proceedings. two years later, Delta County broke ground for its new courthouse and would, before long, raze the old one. G. arntzen, architect, & Co. prepared the final plans for the courthouse with an eye toward avoiding the shortfalls of the old courthouse. For instance, the courthouse has large fireproof vault rooms in its basement for storage of county records. the interior liberally employs glass, stone, and wood rather than the plastered walls and dark woodwork of the old building. the construction contract went to erling arntzen,an escanaba contractor.Groundbreaking occurred in 1959. there had been much building beforehand. Delta County was first surveyed in april 1843. In addition to its present territory, it included all of menominee County and parts of Dickinson, Iron, and marquette Counties. the county name is due to its original triangular shape, like the capital Greek letter delta. l. a. roberts, a fur trader, was the first recorded european settler, arriving in 1830. historiansbelievethatetiennebrule,thefirsteuropean known to have visited the upper Peninsula, may have traDelta County Delta CouNty 46 versed the Delta County area in 1618. In 1634, Jean Nicolet passed by as he looked for a northwest passage to China. French Jesuit missionaries reported in 1659 that there were Native american villages at the head of little bay de Noc near rapid river. the Nokay Native americans and bay de Noc derive their names from the French who called both Nocquet. It was only a matter of time before more settlement and industry arrived in Delta County. much of it was and is in escanaba, the county seat, which sits on the northern shore of lake michigan. the origin of escanaba’s name is unclear. there are ojibwa words sounding like escanaba that mean “land of the red buck” and also “flat rock.” e. P. royce, who first platted the city in 1864, said that it was named after the escanaba river, which he was told meant “flat rock.” a Native american treaty from approximately 1830 called the river skonawby. Daniel Goodwin of the michigan supreme Court was the first judge in the area. he rode circuit throughout the upper Peninsula before creation of the present judicial districts . In may 1865, he presided over the trial of timothy Donovan. Donovan killed a man, and the jury convicted him of assault without intent to murder. Judge Goodwin imposed a sentence of one year in the county jail. but there was a slight problem. Delta County had no jail. In fact, Delta County had no public buildings whatsoever . Court and other public functions were held in private buildings, or outside. accordingly, Delta County’s first public building was a jail for its first convict and a residence for its sheriff. Justice was swift in those days. one historical account of the county mentions a horse thief who stole on a monday and was duly convicted and sentenced by the following monday. Pragmatism, not passion or prejudice, motivated such haste. travel was difficult for witnesses and jurors, and circuit-riding judges had...