Michigan's County Courthouses

Mecosta County

120 BIg RaPIDS—the mighty Muskegon River is the lifeblood of Mecosta county. It carried the first wave of settlers in the s. In the coming decades it brought with it the lumbering industry. the lumbermen named the county seat Big Rapids for its location near the largest of the many rapids on the river. Between  and , the county’s population swelled with the ebb and flow of the river from  to ,. Mecosta county was organized on February , . It was named for a Potawatami chief whose name means “big bear.” For several months the seat was originally named Leonard, for Dr. F. B. Leonard, an early settler and large landholder. the first attorney recorded in the county arrived in the fall of .according to one account,“he found but little to do, and did that little so unpopularly that he eked out a very meager living.” He left on the eve of winter, still wearing his summer clothes. In april  Judge F. J. Littlejohn presided over the first court session. Mecosta was first attached to newaygo for judicial purposes. the location of Big Rapids on the western edge of the county inhibited its early efforts to raise money to build county buildings. In the early s county officers rented a building at  South Michigan. In the early s two downtown buildings at the corner of elm and Michigan housed rented county offices. Only in april  did voters approve $, over two years to fund construction of a courthouse. construction beganinandwascompletedin.crocker&Hudnutt of Big Rapids was the general contractor. county leaders credit Messrs. Warren and Ives, two early developers, with reserving four blocks for county and church buildings. the building was on a hill, and its main entrance faced north. the color scheme of its stone exterior is similar to that of the existing historic courthouse in Houghton county: yellow, orange, and green. up to the first level, the exterior consisted of split fieldstone. Brick facing continued to the eaves, and sandstone caps arched over the doorway and windows. the high-peaked roof was slate. a large offcenter clock tower in the northwest corner dominated the upper half of the structure. It towered above a statue holding the scales of justice atop the utmost portion of the center of the building. a photograph of the imposing building adorns a wall near the main staircase of its successor. For safety reasons, the clock tower was dismantled and the statue removed in the s. the interior featured high ceilings and carved woodwork, particularly in the courtroom. Mecosta County MecOSta cOunty 121 earlier, Mecosta erected a jail in  for about $,. It and another jail predated the  jail, which still stands across the street from the court. Its turrets and hip-andgable roofs typify its Queen anne architectural roots. It cost $, and was used as a jail and sheriff’s residence until . For $, its modern counterpart adjacent to the courthouse replaced it that year. It has since undergone some renovations of its own. the grounds of the old jail serve as a park and concert venue. On October , , the courthouse grounds welcomed and dedicated a civil War memorial. the women of Mecosta county raised $, for the project and commissioned it from Smith granite co. three slabs commemorating persons from Mecosta who died in subsequent wars were added on V-J Day , as was another slab within the last few years. as Mecosta grew, it welcomed Woodbridge n. Ferris, who would later serve as governor and as u.S. senator. He and his wife founded the Ferris Industrial School, which over the years had several other names until a fire in  threatened to close the institution. the state stepped in, and Ferris State university as it is now known is a major employer and attraction in the county as it continues its tradition of open enrollment. two Ferris students spotted a fire in the courthouse on the morning of april , . a basement stock and furnace room caught fire, and flames were shooting six feet into the air from southwest windows. the fire department doused the flames, with the chief estimating that another fifteen minutes would have doomed the building. court went on as usual that day, but with open doors and windows due to the odor of burnt wood. Workers huddled in coats due to the exposure and the fact that the furnace remained off until : a.m. But the days of the courthouse were numbered.growth of the county and its services, as well as...