The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1908-06-17
THE COURT HOUSE GROUNDS.
A Criticism Of the Condition of the
surroundings Of Sumter's Hand
dsOme Edifice.

Editor Item:
Please allow the writer space to
call attention to the condition of the
grounds surrounding Sumter's fine
Court House, and also to insist that
something should be done to put them
In order and to keep them so.
II is not proposed in this article to
blame any special individual for the
present condition Of the grounds, but
1t is severe reflection upon the citi-
zens generally, and one for which
there Is no valid excuse. It is simply
tabsurd to supopse that Sumter county
could afford to spend over 100000
TO build the finest court house in the
State and then be unable to appro-
pirate few hundred dollars to keep
the grounds in decent condition.
Strangers are being constantly taken
to see the Court House, which is, of
course. good thing to do. but they
get an unpleasant surprise when they
see the grounds covered with weeds
and exhibiting condition Of general
neglect. There ought to be a regular
I appropriation for keeping up the
grounds and the money expended by
some one who has the requisite taste
and knowledge to conduct the work
in a satisfactory manner. If this be
done the grounds can be made very
! pretty and attractive and will very
greatly enhance the beauty of the
building itself, but this can't be done
by little occasional and badly di-
rected work
] II the writer's information is cor
rect the county commissioners offered
to turn over the grounds to the Civic.
League, but would not assume any
Of the cost OF improving them, vir-
tually placing the whole burden on
the league. This offer was very prop
erly declined and this is just the con-
dition at present, but in the mean
time the weeds are <growing and can
be safely counted on to produce q
full crop of seed, and these seed will
be very strongly in evidence next
spring. just as soon as the weather
| begins to turn worm.
| The individual who would build
very fine residence an then pretend
| that he could not afford to keep his
yard free of weeds would make him
self the laughing stock of the COM
munity, yet this is just what the peo-
pie of Sumter County. in their coll
iective capacity have done, built a
very stately Court House and can't
afford to keep the grounds in decent
order.
| In 1900 the Court House in Marion
were covered with horse racks. mud
holes and weeds and were inst
ABOUT as unsightly as they could well
be. The ladies organized a Civic
League and one of their first points
or attack was TO improve the condi-
ioh or these grounds. The first
step was to secure the services of one
or the most expert landscape archi-
tects in the country to Law off fine
grounds. His plans have been strict
~ carried out with the result that the
grounds become more beautiful every
year, this being done to the general
harmony of the design and TO .he in
! creased growth of the plants. The
cost up to the present time has been
Sl'9oo, OF which the county furnish
ed $500 ana the town $500. This is
[ far from being all the work accom-
| phshed by the league, but the writer
only desires to make SPECIAL mention
OF the work Of the ladies in trans
/ Icrm'nS an extremely ugly piece ot
ground into place Of exquisite beau
~. Marion has a plain. old-fashioncd
court house standing in the midst Of
o'au'huiiy Kept ana attractive
gro''nos, while the grounds around
3unItcrs beautiful aai costly cour,
hcusc are allowed I'd grow up in
Weetls.
As ras already been stated, the
writer does not undertake to blame
any one individual for the present
condition OF the court house grounds.
| but merely to direct attention to the