The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1889-03-22
The Egis & Intelligencer
Bel Air, Nd, March -, 1859.
THE PUBLIC lBUILDISGs Of HAR-
FORD COUNTY.
ny GEORGE W. ARCHER.
No. Ill.
The Court EEOus,

No. III.
Since writing No. H.. on 1.-The Court House" /
have obtained in the office of the County Com
missioners the following extract from the PRO
ceedings OF that body in 1883, relative to the re-
building of the edince after its destruction by
Will preface them with the substance OF the
act of the Assembly under which the erection
was accomplished. II was passed Feb. 18th, 1855
and enacted that Stevenson Archer, Henry ;:
Harlan, A. Lingan Jarrett, James Mccormick and
William Dallar, be appointed Commissioners
10 contract for and to superintend the building
Of a Court House, with all the necessary offices,
upon the public ground in Bel Air, furnishing
the same" and so on; They are authorized to
ply the proceeds to the carrying out of the pro-
visions of the act to levy such sums as they may
deem best-not more than 5000. nor less than
5000 in any one year, to appoint a treasurer
from their own body, who is to bond in the sum
OF $1,000. They are TO be paid for this service
during the time they are actually engaged in the
work. The County Commissioners are required
to issue, when called for by tho building commits
sioners. bonds OF the county to the amount OF
not more than $4,000, in sums OF 800 and up
wards, at six per cent? the time of payment not
building board and to be exempt from taxation.
The County Commissioners are authorized 40
procure suitable place for holding the Circuit
Court, &c, in the meantime
The first meeting Of the County Commissioners
under tbs act took place March Isl, 1855 Pres,
G. Luckey Jacob J. Michael and Barnett J. Clark,
Harry ID. Cough, Clerk.
The following order was passed whereas
the books and papers belonging to tho Commits
sioners' office have been destroyed by the recent
burning OF the Court House. Ordered, that the
", to the collectors of taxes in the several dis
trcts TO bring in or deliver to tho Board on or
before the 9Th day Of this month, the assessment
and levy list in their hands, to be transcribed
according to the act of Assembly recently passed.
and also their vouchers: and II IL further
ordered that all persons having claims against
tho county, present the same with their vOuch-
ers duly authenticated, as soon as possible
March 3. OTddsd, that Jacob j. Michael pur-
Office.
aud one for the Orphans Court the cost not to
March Is. Ordered, that the clerk have case
made, TO contain the books and papers Of this
Office. MIR. Michael was soon afterwards paid
SIZE for the seals he had procured, and the clerk
March 10. Ordertd, that the clerk have one
hundred and twenty Court House bonds print
ed that he contract with the trustees of the
Masonic Hall and the members Of the Methodist
Protestant Church for the use of said Hall and
Church, to hold the Circuit Court of Hartford
county in" THESE constituted one buildinR-the
church below. the Hall above
april 20 In accordance with the act for build
ing the Court House. Ordered that bonds to the
amount OF $4,000 be issued, ranging from 800 to
$500, payable in one or two years. at per cent"
The record of July IL shows that the Commits
soners had previously rented from Charles d.
Iiouldin, his store house opposite the Methodist
church" for one year from May 18th, 1853, for $50,
to be used as a jury room and that on the same
day and for the same period they had sub-rented
1t TO A. H. Reynolds probably one of the CON
tractors for rebuilding the Court Housed for s25,
court" :,
ed on roads. except in cases Of absolute neces-
sity.
The County Commissioners seem now to have
completed their comparatively trivial part of the
work. for there Is no further mention of tho sub
Ject 10 their records for nearly year, when the
following order was passed, which, although in
significant in itself indicates the important fact
that the building commissioners and the contrac-
tors had also got through with their more practical
part of the big job, in other words that the new
temple of justice was ready for dedication. This
final order OF May 80, 1853. directs that tbs
treasurer pay to three do.ars f9r esa ns
last was probably the cheapest of all their
tracts, since. between the mud and tobacco guilds
and squirtings that had by that time accumulate
ed ana been ground into the floors. this humble
temple of Methodism aud Masonry must have be-
come kind of Augean stable, and as the cIerk
has failed to transmit to posterity the name of
It's cleanser, would suggest that Hercules"
be inserted in the blank. in honor of the hero
who performed somewhat similar service for
the sons of Eeus, with the aid OF a flowing river
which the Bel Air hero did not have.
In previous number | stated that the fire OF
1858 destroyed the entire Court House, ex cept
the fire proof Offices Mr.. J. Crawford Nelson
in subsequent issue OF The Egis says, and no
struction, that an entirely new Court House was
erected in its place. The two statements how
over. are not, us he seems to intimate necessari-
ly inconsistent, since, II the fire-proot offices
were really what the name reports, they could
not have been destroyed by the fire; If destroy
ed at all, and suppose they were, 1t must have
been done by those who rebuilt the sdilce. and
for purposes economical or esthetic. Mr.. Nelson
tells US that the contract for rebuilding the Court
House was given to T.. and j. Reynolds. [of Cecil
countyfl for $4,000 and all old material, for
building complete, except fitting up rooms. He
ed the contract mainly. lie is right in surmis-
ing that the word "rafits'' Cif it can be called
World which appeared in No; H.; on the Court
House, was misprint for 'sofllts
The name of the architects, contractors and
builders are not mentioned at all in the records
OF the County commissioners office. The build
Ing commits SOners, however, probably kept notes
of their proceedings, in which, If still in exist
ence, not only such mention might be found, but
perhaps other interesting information 1t would
seem that they did not repose entirely on a bed
of roses during their incumbency. A few days
since | stumbled upon seven petitions TO the
Legislature concerning the projected Court
House, which show that the appointment OF all
but one OF the building commissioners from the
Third District made stir in at least one end of
the county All these petitions came from the
Second and Fifth Districts, and what seems
rather strange, the latter, which were represent
ed In the board, sent very large majority of all
the signers. The seven petitions are unanimous
In requesting that supplement be enacted APP
pointing one commissioner from each DISTRICT
Three of them pray that the levy be limited to
$1,000 one to $4,000, while the remainder are sil-
number of sgners was l1S, most of them promin-
ent citizens. After all there may have been petit
tons from ether districts sent In, but now lost:
Presumably, the object in appointing so many of
the Commissioners from the district in which
the building was to be erected, was to facilitate
the supervision OF the work with minimum
OF Inconvenience to those who were expected to
perform IL for nominal compensation.
Mr.. w. III. II. Whiteford, of Darlington, writes
me that he was personally acquainted with Thos
s. Williamson. who slated the roof of the Court
House, in 1883, and whose place OF residence
stated was unknown to me. HE lived" says
Mr.. Whiteford, between Delta and West
Bangor, In York county, Pa, and owned two or
more slate qurrros. His father, Peter William
son. opened the first slate quarry on Slate Ridge
Thomas So, died some twent five years ago, lcav
INK a son and daughter. both of whom are dead"
STATE OF ONO. CITY OF ToLEDo,l
LUCAS COUNTY, s. s.
FRANK J. CHENEY makes oath that he ia tho
senior partner of tho firm of +. J. Cheney & Co.,
doing business in the City of Toledo, County and
State aforesaid, and that said firm will pay the
snm of ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS for each
and every case of Catarrh that cannot be cured
by the use OF HALLS CATARRH CURE.
FRANK j. CHENEY,
Sworn to before me and subscribed in my pre-
sence. this 9th day OF December, A. ID. 1885.
T-'- A. w GLEASON,
seal Notary Public.
Halls Catarrh Cure is taken internally and
acts directly upon the blood and mucus surfaces
OF the system. Send for testimonials. free.
+. j. CHENEY CO., Toledo.
D-sold by Druggists. 10 cents.
RELIGIOUS NOTICES.
-Rev. @. l.. Cuddy will preach in Dublin NJ. f..
Church, next Sunday, March 2th, at i. 80 A. NJ.
-Bel Air Circuit NJ. p. Church, Rev. 4. A. Hob
ltzeli, Pastor.-Rsgular Service at Bel Air next
Sunday evening. March 24th, at 100 O'clock
Preaching also at Providence at 1880 A. NJ. and
nnl q