To date, this small and
predominantly rural county of eastern North Carolina has had
four court facilities.
Court on Stilts
Local legend describes the first
courthouse in the county as a high court, literally. The wooden
structure was built on stilts in 1775, probably because of its
proximity to the flood-prone Roanoke River. The stories tell of
court patrons entering the courtroom from boats by way of
ladders, which were pulled up when the court was in session. No
one left until the judge declared court dismissed. Eventually,
this first courthouse became so dilapidated that it could no
longer be used. (Read more about this period in the history
of eastern North Carolina, including some fanciful stories about
exciting court days at this very courthouse in The Life and
Times of Elder Ruben Ross by his son James Ross with an
introduction by J.M. Pendleton. Read the book online at East
Carolina University's North Carolina History and Fiction Digital
Library at the following link:
http://digital.lib.ecu.edu/historyfiction/document/rol/ .
Use the "jump to" page option to reach the section referring to
the courthouse in Williamston which starts at the last paragraph
on page 85.)
From Water
to Flames
A second courthouse was
constructed in 1835. It, too, was built of wood. After almost 50
years, fire destroyed the building in 1884. Until another could
be built, court sessions were held on the second floor of the
S.R. Biggs’ drug store on Williamston’s Main Street.
Advancing to Brick
In July of 1885, “fifty thousand bricks for building the Court
House had been delivered” to Williamston and the first brick
courthouse structure was begun soon after. This third courthouse
was completed in 1887 at a cost of $17,500 and was one of only a
dozen built in North Carolina between 1860 and 1900. For nearly
a century, the sturdy structure served the county as a
courthouse, a repository of public documents and even, on
occasion, a meeting place. In 1983, county officials dealt a
death knell to the third Martin County courthouse. They decided
to build a center to house several courtrooms as well as
multiple government services. The “old” courthouse would be
demolished to create parking space for the new governmental
center.
With the county’s first courthouse
falling into disrepair; the second being lost to flames, and the
third about to meet the wrecking ball, you might think that the
people of Martin County, NC have not cared much for their
judicial heritage. That perception would be wrong.
Read the
story
of how and why the third Martin County Courthouse was saved and
discover how you can take part of this exciting project.
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