The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1878-02-09
4 RETROSPECT.
HISTORY or THE COURT HOUSE AID
JAIL,
What the Present Ola Barracks cost tho
People.

What the Present Ola barracks cost the
People.
As the question Of building a new county
Court House and Jail begins to loom up in the
near iuturc-a question Of time, and a very
brief time at that, as the old shell has begun
to tottcr and crumble, rendering it no longer a
safe or fitting repository for the tons of valu-
able records now slowed within its dccaying
walls,-it might interest the public to know
something Of the history of the old structure
and particularly the long and cvcrincreasing
bill of expense which has attended its prcserva
ton and patchwork improvements, by which
it has been sought to enlarge its capacity 50
as, in some degree, TO keep it along with the
increasing demands Of our large and growing
county.
Prior to It's existence, Dec 9TH, 1881, the
county commissioners ordered court house
and Jail to be built on the public square in
Ottawa. The size was 1G by "a feet, ? stories
high The lower story was of timbcrs one
foot square, and the second hcwn logs six in
chcs thick, let close together. The jail was in
one end Of this building, eight by fourteen feet
This court house and Jail cost Si0220. This
primitive form of county buildings soon be
came, like the present structure inadequate to
the wants of the public, and seven years after
on the 10Th of July 1s38-thc county com.
mssioncrs were obliged to provide more am
pie and convenient accommodations, Accord
inglv, IA contract was entered into with VIM.
| F. Flagg to erect Il new court house and Jail,
at cost Of 100000. He gave the county bonds
to tie amount of $4,000 for the faithful per
iormance Of his agreement. The county then
being poor, issued honis =" Ei",-t- c." !"
lbcr, $4,000 each. The county had to do some
preliminary grading, such rs removing brush
and stumps from the lot and grading and lev
cling the ground, which cost $lO7.G3 The
state had donated the property, being block
II, town of Ottawa, To the county, for court
house purposes. In March 1910 the commits
sioncrs somcwhot changed their plans and in
structcd Flagg to cXcayate down to the sole
rock on which TO put the jail-in the basement
lor the building, the Jail not having been origi
nally contemplated us part of the court house
The extra excavations, &c, cost the county
$500. This change of the plans cost the coun
ty S2,500-and additional bonds were issue
to cover this amount. Although Flagg la,
, been three years in possession Of the county
5 bonds, he had done so little work that tn
county authorities had become alarmed lest h
might sell the bonds asd skip So sui
was brought to hurry his motions. They pal
. Champlin Il Spring $500 Us starter o
the law suit, and gave j, ~ }. Holland S9i io
c extras on the new jail, Jan. 9TH, 1871. Abot
this time interest on the bonds issued ha
h. fallen due and the county ISSUED To VIM lie,
y dick, in behalf of the owners of said bond
bonds for interest to the amount of $9Gl.l
May 18th, 1871 1t was thought best 10 hay
the new buildings viewed" and Sanger
Lamb "gazcd" upon the structure and
g Sizcr made some estimates relative thcrct
X for which labor the viewer and estimator r
, cciycd the rrinccly remuneration Of two dc
=. liars!
- June 10th, lsil, Flagg'S Surctics were moi
fed of his failure to perform his contract, al
on the 2ith of the same month thamplin
Spring drew 500 attorneys fees in the case.
Is there were constant dCviationS made
the plans of the building, 50 there were co
Itinucd new expenses incurred, and Jol
Rhoadcs loaned the county 5000 10 help Il
H. lean and lonesome treasury
10 The county and Fhgg came 10 some hctt
L. understanding, and the commissioners isSu
= him $1,000 in bonds, probably to cover
I creased expenses consequent upon altcratio
of the original plans and specifications, o
20, 1871 Among other items Flagg rccciv
r. S9j extra for the >plrc and yanc on the cot
n, house; and Dee sth, 1871, TO Feb. 'th Is
Of y. Rhoadcs, Kcclan, Daily, Woodruff, Ga
ne man. Lyman, and others were paid S3@ll
be-, labor and materials ON the building.
Ter Jan. stI. lSi? the court house and Jail W,
.N formally accepted from Flagg, hut, as sub
|uucnr bills show. not in very complete .,
Ia duion.
u, Feb. :, 1Si2, Flagr was paid bond for
nj tcrc>, due, $1,000.
on In 1872, The county paid for extra, AMI j
IproycmcntS, $I0i,i2
Nov =, 1872, the commissioners Issued
VIM Rc,ldick for the bondholdcr- hont~
Interest. $1,000
Jan :, 1912, eastman presented bonds
liz interest and received thereon q new bond
a. $1,000.
'"' Dec lsii, $iS06 were spent in o.Hi,s,
-, building then not two years old.
.U March 10, 1874. Cushman turned up for
me tercst on a bond and got $2ji-9O, and Fla
md for a similar purpose, $50, and the 60
ler: house needing repairs, plastering. III
,,.o SlJ0i7 were devoted TO that object.