Courthouse needs staffing volunteers
Renovated Postville Courthouse
sets Dec. 9 open house
[DEC.
6, 2000] The
Postville Courthouse State Historic Site on Fifth Street in Lincoln,
which has been closed since April 16 of this year, will reopen on
Saturday, Dec. 9, with an open house from noon to 3 p.m. This is a
special reception for the public to come and see the courthouse
after its $250,000 restoration, said Richard Schachtsiek, site
manager of Postville and of the Mount Pulaski Courthouse. He also
hopes to recruit volunteers to help staff the building, one of the
important sites in the Looking for Lincoln tourist program.
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"One
of the main things we are hoping to do at the reception is to let
people know we are starting a volunteer staffing program,"
Schachtsiek told the Lincoln Daily News. "We are seeking
staffers and interpreters who will give time and allow us to keep
the courthouse open from noon to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.
We will take names and telephone numbers of interested people at the
reception. After the first of the year, we will set up training
dates for volunteers. Ideally, volunteers will give only one
afternoon a month to the courthouse."
Shirley
Bartelmay and Thressia Usherwood of the Lincoln Tourist Bureau are
assisting Schachtsiek with the volunteer program. A similar
volunteer program keeps the Mount Pulaski Courthouse open.
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The
renovation project, overseen by the Illinois Capital Development
Board, included the replacement of all exterior siding, doors,
windows, roofing material and finishes. Interior work included
plastering, painting, asbestos removal and remodeling of the site’s
two fireplaces. The building also got new mechanical, electrical and
security systems, new plumbing, a new brick sidewalk, and a new
storage shed. Schachtsiek said this is the first major update the
building has had since its construction in 1953.
He
noted that, along with bringing wiring, heating and plumbing up to
current standards and the repair of a collapsed sewer line, the
renovation also corrected some inaccuracies in the design of the
building, which is a replica of the original. The original
courthouse was purchased by Henry Ford in 1929 and is part of the
historic Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Mich.
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The
changes in design include 6-over-6 window panes instead of the
former 4-over-4, removal of shutters, replacement of the painted
siding with walnut siding, and changes in the two fireplaces inside
the building to make them historically accurate.
"We
are very pleased with the results," Schachtsiek said. "We
were happy to have both a contractor and an architect who were
sensitive to working with historic structures." The contractor,
RJS Construction of Peoria, and the architect, Anne McGuire and
Associates of Evanston, both have had experience with restoration
work
The
exhibits in the building, which explain the operation of the Eighth
Judicial circuit and the people who traveled it, including Abraham
Lincoln, and the historic courtroom and clerk’s office on the
second floor, have not been changed.
Schachtsiek
believes Postville is an important site on the Looking for Lincoln
project because it shows how Lincoln made a living when he was
practicing law. "About one-half his time he spent traveling the
Eighth Judicial Circuit. There are only three places where you can
learn about his career on the circuit — Postville, Mount Pulaski and Metamora
courthouses," he said.
Schachtsiek says he plans
to have special events at the Postville Courthouse in the spring and
during the Art and Balloon Fest in August.
[Joan
Crabb]
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