Macoupin County Courthouse finishes north-stair renovations

Macoupin County Courthouse, Carlinville

The historic Macoupin County Courthouse in Carlinville, Illinois, nicknamed the Million Dollar Courthouse, finished $200,000 in much-needed renovations, according to the State Journal-Register in nearby Springfield.

The occasion will be celebrated with a program at 11 a.m. Saturday at the courthouse, followed by guided tours, an Abraham Lincoln presenter and the Macoupin County Historical Society Fall Festival.

The courthouse’s north stairs recently were restored with a $100,000 grant from Landmarks Illinois and $100,000 from the county’s reserve fund.

Restoration isn’t finished on the 1870 courthouse, but work on the north steps led to other efforts in that direction, according to Harry Starr of the county’s building and grounds committee:

[T]he north stairs were selected over the deteriorating south stairs because the south stair restoration would require more work than the grant and matching funds would cover. But he added the north stair project has spurred other work, including gutter rehabilitation, interior tile restoration, and a thorough exterior cleaning courtesy of Macoupin County Sheriff Shawn Kahl.

A fund has been established to accept donations to continue the courthouse restoration, and there are plans to restore the adjacent old jail building as well.

A report last year said complete restoration of the courthouse would cost $20 million. About $450,000 has been spent so far.

Landmarks Illinois originally capped its grant maximum to $80,000. But after officials there saw the courthouse, they increased the cap to $100,000.

The Million Dollar Courthouse required several years and $1.3 million when it was built, because of cost overruns. County clerk George H. Holliday, who was blamed for misused appropriations, boarded a train and vanished the year the courthouse was finished.

Carlinville was part of Route 66 from 1926 to 1934, when it piggybacked on Illinois Highway 4 from Springfield. Route 66 later was realigned to the east, until both the old and newer sections of the Mother Road joined up again south of Staunton, Illinois.

(Image of the north and east sides of the Macoupin County Courthouse in 2010 by Randy von Liski via Flickr)

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