The truck is reserved through mid September. Workers built two clay roadways on the courthouse lawn to support the truck's weight. From the ground, or even from inside the tower, one can't tell anything's wrong. But go up a few dozen feet in the air, and one can see the problems. The masonry archways have chunks missing.
Bricks seem to float in the air, as gaps remain where mortar used to be.
Alongside rotted wooden beams, new ones stick out from the east side of the steeple. Clark said the new wood should hold the steeple in place well enough for the time being. The damage is due in part to moisture over the years that deteriorated the structure, as well as poor design and workmanship when the courthouse was built in 1894, Clark said. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The renovation project began in June 1998.