Second Arenac County Courthouse

Second Arenac County Courthouse
Location Central Ave., Omer, Michigan
Coordinates 44°2′50″N 83°51′14″W / 44.04722°N 83.85389°W / 44.04722; -83.85389Coordinates: 44°2′50″N 83°51′14″W / 44.04722°N 83.85389°W / 44.04722; -83.85389
Area 1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built 1889 (1889)
Built by Angus McDonnell
NRHP Reference # 82002823[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP April 15, 1982
Designated MSHS March 2, 1976[2]

The Second Arenac County Courthouse, also known as Ye Olde Courthouse Masonic Hall and the Omer Masonic Hall, is a historic building located on Central Avenue in Omer, Michigan. The building is an outstanding example of a highly detailed vernacular frame building.[2] It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1976[2] and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.[1]

History

Arenac County was organized in 1883 from sections that had been part Bay County.[2] Omer was selected as the county seat and a courthouse was built. In 1889, the courthouse burned down, and the county hired local contractor and sawmill owner Angus McDonnell to construct this building on the same site.[2] The building was finished in 1890 at a cost of $2970.75.[3] In 1891, a county-wide vote selected Standish as the county seat, and the county government was moved. In 1893,[2] the vacated court building was sold to the Omer Lodge of the Free and Acceptable Order of Masons for $500.[3] At various times, the Masonic Lodge allowed the village to use the structure as a village hall, fire station, and jail.[2]

Facing heavy repair costs, the Masons moved out of the building for smaller quarters in 1997.[3][4] The structure was purchased by Carol and Robert Britt, who completed some repairs and restoration work with the intention of converting the structure into a museum. In 2004, the Britts then sold the building to the Arenac County Historical Society.[3] The building currently serves as the Society's Historical Courthouse Museum, known as "Ye Olde Courthouse Masonic Hall".[3]

Description

The Second Arenac County Courthouse is a rectangular symmetric two-story frame structure covered with clapboard with a hip roof.[2] The entrance is through a porch supported with slender columns with a slightly projecting bay. An elaborate fanlight window sits above the entrance, and gable above features fishscale shingles and sunburst carving. A graceful cupola tops the structure.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Second Arenac County Courthouse". Michigan State Housing Development Authority: Historic Sites Online. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Ye Olde Courthouse Masonic Hall". Northeast Michigan Council of Governments. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
  4. ↑ John Fedynsky (2010), Michigan's County Courthouses, University of Michigan Press, p. 14, ISBN 9780472117284

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