Michigan's County Courthouses

Lake County

95 BAlDWiN—A bloody fight and a devastating fire are two epic events that forever mark the lake County Courthouse. it stands prominently along the right of way, looking southward down the center of the commercial strip where traveling tourists and rooted residents gather. The impressive white portico and its four supporting columns make up the face of the courthouse. On the west end of the building through a large arched window one can see the somewhat tattered and charred flag saved from the blaze and presented decades later for the dedication of a new addition. The secure entrance is to the east, proclaiming in large green letters the name and purpose of the building. To the north the building is firmly connected to the jail. North, south, east, and west, the court radiates its presence and its position in the community. At first the county was named in  for Aischum, a Potawatami chief whose name appeared on every Native American treaty affecting Michigan lands from  until . it was renamed lake though it is landlocked and does not contain in abundance or size any greater inland lakes than most other counties. The county was formally organized in  and was at different times part of Ottawa, Oceana, Newaygo, Mecosta, Mason, and Osceola counties. An influx of homesteaders who were Civil War veterans catapulted the county toward independence. in the twentieth century the county gained prominence as home to idlewild, a summer resort community that attracted African American vacationers from primarily around the Midwest, as well as renowned performers from across the nation.Attendance peaked at around , during independence Day Weekend . Civil rights legislation of the s contributed to the decline of the area’s popularity,though efforts are under way to convert idlewild into a destination for its historical importance. lakeCounty’sotherclaimtofameisthehazilyrecorded Battle of Chase. it was the culmination of a contest for the county seat. Chase, which was named for Salmon P. Chase, a governor of Ohio, was the county seat at the time of organization , and for $ a year it rented the upper story of a building to hold court. Earlier, it was called Green Dell and, before then,Joiner for an early settler.Meanwhile,Hannibal, a town named for an early settler’s surname, grew and was renamed Baldwin City and finally just Baldwin in honor of Michigan’s Governor Henry P. Baldwin. These two communities, along with Nirvana and Yates Township, vied for the county seat. A coalition of towns in August  pledged $, for county buildings if the seat would relocate to Baldwin. The vote carried  to , but Chase resisted, hoping perhaps to win an injunction in court. The sheriff and clerk, who were from Chase, refused to do business outside of their hometown. The treasurer, who was from Baldwin, refused to pay any orders not issued from Baldwin. The standoff prompted a committee from Baldwin to approach Chase on April , , about moving the safe full of records to Baldwin so that the county could again function. Chase rebuffed the delegation. Here the record is difficult to resolve. What seems clear is that a larger group from Baldwin returned the same day and came home with the safe after some sort of struggle. it is unclear if they came at night or during the day. it is also unknown if they used a railroad and, if so, whether their return was engine powered or hand driven. One account claims that the Chaseites buried the safe Lake County lAKE COuNTY 96 beneath the court building and that the Baldwinites razed the building before they made off with the safe. Another version of the story asserts that the whole building was lifted and moved. The most credible story is that the safe was too large to fit through a door and was housed in a lean-to near or attached to the court building. The Baldwinites secured a group of burly lumbermen to accompany them to Chase. One part of the group dismantled the lean-to and secured the safe while the others stood guard and beat back the Chaseites who were roused by mill whistles. The train blew its whistle when the safe was loaded onto the flatcar and the brawling Baldwinites jumped onto the train as it left. in its wake the battle left about twenty physically injured men requiring care, with a broken collarbone registering as the most serious. Bruised egos were in abundance. The safe would change hands a number of times and eventually ended...