The Benzie County Courthouse is a historic former courthouse in

Beulah, Michigan Beulah is a village and the county seat of Benzie County, Michigan. The population was 342 at the 2010 census. It is located in Benzonia Township at the southeast end of Crystal Lake, about one mile (1.6 km) north of Benzonia on U.S. Hig ...

. It is a

Michigan State Historic Site The Michigan State Historic Preservation Office is one of 59 state historic preservation offices established according to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 that plays a role in implementing federal historic preservation policy in the ...

and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. Built in 1912 as a hotel and recreation center, it later served as a courthouse until 1976.

History

The building was constructed in 1912. It initially served as a recreation center and hotel, named "The Grand". In early 1916, Beulah won an election to become the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

Benzie County Benzie County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 17,970. The county seat is Beulah. The county was initially set off in 1863 and organized in 1869.

. The former hotel was converted into a courthouse; the first floor became county offices and the second floor became a courtroom and sheriff's residence. The jail, nicknamed "The County Root Cellar", was a simple concrete box connected to the courthouse's east end. The county courthouse moved into the Beulah location on June 1, 1916. The courthouse underwent extensive renovations from 1936 through 1938. Benzie County rented the building until 1942 when it purchased the courthouse from Beulah for about $3000. By 1975, the county had raised $615,000 through Federal

revenue sharing Revenue sharing is the distribution of revenue, the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services among the stakeholders or contributors. It should not be confused with profit shares, in which scheme only the profit is share ...

and the sale of a farm to build a new courthouse. Construction on the new facility began in January 1975, and the courthouse moved out of the historic building in 1976. Since its discontinuation as a courthouse, the building has served a number roles and tenants, including stores, restaurants, an inn, and condominiums. The building was designated a

on February 16, 1989, and listed on the

on June 3, 1996.

Architecture

The courthouse features elements of

Mission Revival The Mission Revival style was part of an architectural movement, beginning in the late 19th century, for the revival and reinterpretation of American colonial styles. Mission Revival drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century ...

and

Spanish Colonial Revival architecture The Spanish Colonial Revival Style ( es, Arquitectura neocolonial española) is an architectural stylistic movement arising in the early 20th century based on the Spanish Colonial architecture of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In th ...

. The building has a

clapboard Clapboard (), also called bevel siding, lap siding, and weatherboard, with regional variation in the definition of these terms, is wooden siding of a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping. ''Clapboard'' in modern Americ ...

facade and is two stories tall with an attic. The structure features

Flemish gable A Dutch gable or Flemish gable is a gable whose sides have a shape made up of one or more curves and has a pediment at the top. The gable may be an entirely decorative projection above a flat section of roof line, or may be the termination of a ...

s at the sides and the slightly projecting front. A two-story

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

with square columns stretches across the front of the building.

References

Bibliography

*{{cite book, last=Fedynsky, first=John, title=Michigan's County Courthouses, year=2010, publisher=University of Michigan Press, isbn=978-0-472-11728-4, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ogrel7yYnvQC&pg=PA21 Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Michigan State Historic Sites Buildings and structures in Benzie County, Michigan County courthouses in Michigan Government buildings completed in 1912 Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in the United States Mission Revival architecture in Michigan 1912 establishments in Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Benzie County, Michigan

History

Architecture

See also

References

Bibliography