Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1912-11-14
MUNICIPAL
BUILDING
To Be Erected in Mineral Point Next
Year, at Cost Not to Exceed
$40, 900.
RAZING CITY HALL"
Built for Il County Court House. The
Contract Let on July Is, 1872,
Original Plans Changed.

The work of tearing down Mineral
Points city hall has been begun. a
municipal building will be erected in
its stead next season. the cost of such
building not to exceed the sum of forty
thousand dollars. The plans for the
new building have not yet been agreed
upon.
The work of demolishing the old
building condemned as unsafe for fur
ther occupancy, has been begun this
peded in the labors on the new building
in the spring.
In 1885 the people of the (then) vii.
lage of Mineral Point subscribed the
sum of $575 toward building a court
house, and the sheriff, Levi Sterling,
was directed to contract for the cree
ton of suitable edifce. The speciti
cations provided for building "a feet
square, of hewn logs and two stories
in height. The first floor was to be 3
feet in the clear and the upper story
was to measure feet. Both stories to
have strong oaken joists and sleepers,
with oaken flooring of one and one
fourth inch plank. The upper story
was to be divided into four rooms,
three of the rooms to have one window
each, and the doors were to be hung
with good butt hinges and screws" The
Il ,,IN 70 h1A oil a. flh
feet from the floor, with proper steps.
A table seven feet long was to be pro-
vided for members of the bar and clerk
of the court Rooms ON the upper and
lower floors were to be supplied with
seats for the jury. The sheriff was
allowed the option of using stone or
wood for the floor of the lower story.
The building was to be we'll stocked
and pointed with lime mortar; fur
nished with good and sufficient sash for
the windows. with good glass put in
with putty.
The building was erected according
to the plans and specifications, and
was the county's court house up to
1912
| During the year 1912, the necessity of
a county building was rendered man
ifest by the great Inconvenience of hav-
ing the courts and the sheriff's Office in
one part of the town, while the other
officers were quartered elsewhere. The
board of supervisors advertised for pro-
posals for the erection of a commodious
building, containing accommodations
for the dispatch of all county business.
The proposals were opened July 2S,
| 1912, when the contract was let to
Eleazer Smith and Michael Carson,
whose joint bid for So, $50 was declared
the lowest. The contractors guaran
teed that the building would be com
pleted and ready for the reception of
officers in June 1843. To vacate the
site of the new building, the ancient
court house was sold at public auction
July 81, 1S42. with stipulation that
the purchaser should remove the struc-
ture back forty feet and leave it in
good condition, to be delivered when
vacated by the county in 1843.
| Afterwards the plans of the building
were changed. The roof was changed
from conical shaped to a strait pitch
with pediment. The dome was re-
moved from the center Of the building
to the front. Four columns were TWEEN
| ty- eight feet in height to make a portico
ten feet in width. For making these
changes the builders were allowed the
sum of $1,318.50
This was our court house and city
hall, and remained unchanged for many
years. The symmetery of tie building
was destroyed when the pillars were
removed and the frame part built on
| in front.