Presque Isle County Courthouse facts for kids
The Presque Isle County Courthouse, also known as the Onaway Courthouse, is an important government building. You can find it at the corner of State and Maple Streets in Onaway, Michigan. This historic building was recognized as a Michigan State Historic Site in 1978 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
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Presque Isle County Courthouse
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 Location in Michigan
Location in the United States
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| Location | State and Maple Sts., Onaway, Michigan |
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| Area | 4 acres (1.6 ha) |
| Built | 1908 |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian, Eclectic |
| NRHP reference No. | 80001889 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | April 3, 1980 |
Contents
Building a Community: The Courthouse Story
The story of the Presque Isle County Courthouse begins with a man named Merritt Chandler. He was born in 1843 in Michigan. Merritt Chandler became very wealthy first by working in the lumber industry and then by building roads. In 1886, he planned out the village of Onaway.
Onaway's Growth and a Big Idea
By 1903, Onaway had grown quite a lot, with about 3,000 people living there. This made it the biggest town in Presque Isle County. In 1908, Merritt Chandler built this courthouse building. He then gave it to the county as a gift. He hoped that by doing this, Onaway would become the new "county seat." The county seat is the main town where the county government offices and courts are located. At that time, Rogers City was the county seat.
Efforts to Move the County Seat
Merritt Chandler's plan to move the county seat to Onaway did not work out. So, in 1911, people started a new idea. They wanted to create a completely new county just for Onaway, which they planned to call "Forest County." This idea also failed. However, as a compromise, county court sessions were held in both Rogers City and Onaway. This continued until the 1940s.
Bringing the Courthouse Back to Life
Over the years, the courthouse building started to show its age and needed repairs. In the late 1990s, a big project began to restore it. More than $1 million was spent to fix it up. Workers improved the heating and electrical systems. They also replaced the roof and windows. The inside of the building was refinished, and a clock was put in the clocktower.
Today, the building is still very active. It houses the Onaway Branch of the Presque Isle District Library. It also has the Onaway Historical Museum, where you can learn about the area's past. The Chamber of Commerce and offices for the City of Onaway are also located there.
Architectural Style: A Mix of Designs
The Presque Isle County Courthouse is a two-story building. It's not perfectly symmetrical, meaning one side isn't exactly the same as the other. It was built using poured concrete blocks and sits on a strong foundation made of fieldstone.
Unique Design Features
The building's design is called "Eclectic." This means it combines different styles of architecture. You can see parts of Italian Villa, Romanesque, and Renaissance Revival styles in its look. The roof is low and gently sloped, known as a hip roof. It has eaves that hang over the sides, supported by decorative brackets. There is also a square tower that is not in the very center of the building.
