Claim: Burr Caswell was a probate judge who used his house as the first Mason County Courthouse long before it became part of the White Pine VIllage outdoor museum.
Evidence: lumberman, lighthouse keeper, civil servant, probate judge, surveyor, fish inspector, coroner for Mason County Caswell's house was the first frame structure in Mason County; it still stands at White Pine Village where it was placed as the Mason County Historical Society's outdoor museum's centerpiece, very near its original constructed location. The Mason County Courthouse county seat was located at Caswell's house from 1856 to 1861 where judges and lawyers came on horseback. The Caswell farmhouse served as the first official county seat and as the first courthouse structure.