Michigan's County Courthouses

Livingston County

105 HOWEll—Though only rarely still used for court functions , the  court in the heart of Howell is a symbol of law and order for livingston County. its tower rises above town and is painted on signs throughout the county’s West Complex a few miles down Grand River where circuit court presently resides. The county is named for Edward livingston, secretary of state under PresidentAndrew Jackson.Howell,which was originally called livingston Centre, is named for a friend of an early settler. The settler honored Thomas Howell, son of Judge Howell of Canindagua, New York, though some say that the pretty sister of Thomas is the true namesake. The legislature laid out livingston on March , . it was for a time divided north-south between unorganized Shiawassee and Washtenaw Counties, respectively. For judicial purposes, the split was the same, except Oakland had jurisdiction over the north end. After organization, which happened on March , , court first met in Howell at a schoolhouse on November , . The county transported prisoners to Ann Arbor while voters rejected proposals to build county facilities in  and . livingston rented the ballroom of the residence of Benjamin J.Spring as a court in  for $,which included the wood that Spring furnished. The court then moved to the meetinghouse of the Presbyterian Society. For about three years the county paid $ in annual rent. Brighton agitated for the county seat and therefore opposed building anything permanent in Howell. Brighton attempted to gain territory from Oakland County, which would have shifted it from the eastern edge to nearer the geographical center of the county. ultimately Howell prevailed, and Enos B. Taylor completed a courthouse in  for $,. The plans of Justin lawyer called for three-foot-thick foundation walls rising three feet above the ground with a brick wall making up the two stories, which were capped with a belfry. An additional $ paid for the stucco exterior of the simple Greek Revival building in . livingston allowed religious groups without their own meetinghouse to use the courthouse for worship. Methodists, Baptists, Congregationalists, and Episcopalians took advantage, displaying a lack of concern about separation of church and state, at least by today’s standards. in the winter of  a building commission condemned the court. in the meanwhile court met at an opera Livingston County liviNGSTON COuNTY 106 house, which cost $ per day. The county in the same year approved $, for a new courthouse by a vote of , to ,. Dignitarieslaidthecornerstonebeforeacrowdof about , on August ,.Judge Josiah Turner remarked that no attorney who practiced with him back in  survived. Material from the razed old courthouse was incorporated into the new Richardsonian Romanesque building. Albert French of Detroit designed the structure, and Waterbury and Wright of ionia built it. its older sibling in Allegan County met the wrecking ball in , while its younger counterpart remains in Barry County. The bulk of the exterior is red brick, with Ohio bluestone trim. its total cost was about $,. it was opened on April , . Howell paid about $, for the clock in the tower, which originally had a black face and gold lettering . Now the face is white with black detail. its diameter , minute hand, hour hand, letters, and minute marks measure, respectively, eight feet, three feet, two feet, nine inches, and three inches. The clock came from E. Howard Watch and Clock Company, and the ,-pound bell from MacShane Bell Foundry of Baltimore. The clock was electrified in , obviating the need for continued winding. AMarch,,invoicerecords$foragildedcopper weathervane consisting of a bird, balls, arrows, and letters. Many assume it is in the shape of an eagle, but it is actually a waterfowl resembling a duck or a goose. The county at one point believed it was missing a wing but later found that it had simply bent backward and obscured itself. The interior of the courthouse is ornate and full of color, much more so than its twin in Barry, which bears greater resemblance in exterior look. Red oak woodwork, intricate blinds, a black-and-white marble floor, adamant plaster, and ample stenciling of interior walls adorn the building. The frescoes are by John Rogers Burdick and Matthew Dowling. Restoration efforts began in earnest in . voters narrowly approved a $. million bond by only about one hundred votes. Grants paid for some work, too. Architect William Kessler and Associates of Detroit workedamidtheconfinesof thebuilding’sstatusasahistoric landmark and the prospect of losing the square if, according to original deeds, it was no longer used by the county for public purposes. Reconstruction by Elgin Builders of...