Henry County Tennessee Courthouse 24nov05

The Henry County Courthouse is located on court square in Paris, Henry County, Tennessee. The current building, which was completed in 1896, is Henry County's fourth

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

Current (1896) Courthouse

The current building is the fourth to serve in this capacity and the third to occupy the current location. The cornerstone was laid in 1896 and the courthouse was first occupied on October 2 of that year.History of the Courthouse
. Retrieved 26 May 2011. The building was designed by

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

architect Reuben Harrison Hunt in the

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish, and Italian Romanesque ...

style. The design is extremely similar to Hunt's

Elbert County Courthouse Elbert County Courthouse is a historic courthouse on Courthouse Square in downtown Elberton, Georgia, county seat of Elbert County, Georgia. The Romanesque Revival architecture building was designed by Reuben H. Hunt and constructed in 1894.

in Elberton, Georgia which was completed about a year prior. Upon completion, the building contained three courtrooms, twelve offices, five fire-proof vaults, electric lighting, low-pressure steam heating and a complete plumbing and draining system.Paris, Henry Co., Tenn., by Sanborn-Perris Map Co., Limited, Jan'y. 1901. The

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...

is indicated to be tall. The

tower clock Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildin ...

features four dials and strikes a bell on the hour and half-hour.Howard Clock Company Ledgers, Clock Orders Book 12, Page 243, Order Number 2038. Renovations include the addition of an elevator, air conditioning and several other modernizations. Some of the original interior woodwork survives, including doors, balustrades and

banisters A handrail is a rail that is designed to be grasped by the hand so as to provide safety or support. In Britain, handrails are referred to as banisters. Handrails are usually used to provide support for body or to hold clothings in a bathroom or ...

. Two staircases in the north corners of the building reach to the third floor where a viewing gallery or balcony looked over the second floor courtroom. This gallery and the original courtroom ceiling have been obscured by a new drop ceiling making air conditioning possible. Portraits hanging in the central hallway depict Patrick Henry, the county's namesake, and the three Tennessee governors who made their home in Paris: Isham Green Harris,

James Davis Porter James Davis Porter (December 7, 1828 – May 18, 1912) was an American attorney, politician, educator, and officer of the Confederate Army. He served as the 20th Governor of Tennessee from 1875 to 1879. He was subsequently appointed as Assistant ...

and

Thomas Clarke Rye Thomas Clarke Rye (June 2, 1863September 12, 1953) was an American politician who served as the 32nd governor of Tennessee from 1915 to 1919. An ardent supporter of prohibition of alcoholic beverages, he helped reunify the state's Democratic Party ...

. The courthouse lawn features several trees (three of which are dedicated to the governors mentioned above), a monument to the county's Confederate soldiers called the "Private of '61" and a Veteran's Memorial bearing the names of Henry County soldiers lost in the service of their country.

Tower clock and bell

Henry County Tennessee Courthouse Clock 24nov05

The

, a "No. 1 Striker," was ordered on 4 August 1896 via jeweler J. P. Jones from the E. Howard Clock Company. $670 was paid for the clock, hands and figures, 10% of which was given to Jones. The order shipped from the Howard factory on 19 August 1896 just less than a week ahead of schedule. Originally, two weights would have driven the time and strike trains. The clock would have been rewound manually on a weekly or semi-weekly basis. Rather than the customary cylindrical weights made of metal or concrete, the weights were actually wooden boxes filled with horseshoes and other scrap metal and built into vertical tracks. In the 1950s, the clock was electrifiedBryant, Heather (19 April 2007).
Clock Tower Local Centerpiece for More Than a Century
. ''Paris Post-Intelligencer.'' Retrieved 26 May 2011. and now two motors drive the time and the strike trains. The bell was cast by William Kaye of Louisville, Kentucky. The alloy is said to contain the metal of several silver dollars donated by the citizens of Paris to give it a clearer sound. It was originally installed in the dome-shaped belfry of the Odd Fellows Female Institute, located at the corner of Market and McNeill streets in Paris, sometime after 1854. While installed at the institute, it rang for the school's purposes as well as for the Baptist church and for funerals. Six years after this building burned in 1890, the bell was installed under the cupola of the new courthouse.

Cornerstone

The cornerstone is found on the northeast corner of the building. On its east-facing side, the name R. H. Hunt is indicated as architect and E. M. Wallen as builder along with the year 1896. On its north-facing side are the names of the building committee: I. M. Hudson, Chairman; W. A. Carter; I. W. Morgan; A. B. Lamb; M. H. Freeman; and I. A. McSwain, Secretary.

Previous courthouses

1823 Courthouse

The first

was built in 1823 in the Clifty community of Henry County, south of Paris. The structure was built with poplar logs in a dogtrot configuration. The Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions was held in the north room while a member of the chamber of commerce sold pies and liquor in the south room.

1825 Courthouse

In 1825, some two years after Paris was established as the county seat and the planned city had been laid off with streets and blocks, a small two-story brick courthouse was built in the center of town. John Burke and Francis McConnell built this structure at a cost of $143. This building stood until 1850.

1852 Courthouse

The third courthouse, designed by John Ora, was built by Calvin Sweeney at a cost of $42,000 and completed in 1852. The building was made of red brick, had two stories and included a central hall and dome. It was rectangular, the two longer facades facing north and south, and had a cross-gabled roof. A public well was located on the west side of the courthouse lawn.Paris, Henry Co., Tenn., by Sanborn Map & Publishing Co., Limited, August 1891. This courthouse witnessed the organizations on its lawn of the Fifth Tennessee Infantry and the Forty-Sixth Tennessee Infantry of the Confederate States Army. The Battle of Paris ensued west of the city on 11 March 1862 and is said to have ended with Federals retreating eastward through the town with Confederates in pursuit. On 1 April 1862, Company F of the Fifth Iowa Cavalry arrived in Paris, commanded by Captain William A. Haw. He writes in his report: Captain Haw later writes of his actions in attempt to guarantee that the flag remain: The flag was removed by a Confederate Captain a few days after their departure. In 1895, this courthouse was remarked by a grand jury as needing attention. The county court instead voted to tear the building down and replace it. The resulting replacement is the courthouse that stands today.

References

{{coord, 36.3023, -88.3259, type:landmark_region:US-TN, display=title Buildings and structures in Henry County, Tennessee County courthouses in Tennessee Government buildings completed in 1896 Clock towers in Tennessee