Logan County to modernize courthouse

LOGAN COUNTY, Ky. – The Logan County Courthouse is undergoing carpentry work to preserve the history of the building.

“Not forgetting our history, remembering it, keeps it from being repeated.”

The Logan County Courthouse was built in 1904. This is the third courthouse that the county has had. 

First, it was the Cedar House in 1793, the Second Courthouse in 1822 and today, the structure on West Third Street. Now, this 122-year-old building is in need of preservation 

“The goal is to return a lot of the historical-ness to the structure but also to preserve it and modernize it without jeopardizing integrity,” said Denise Shoulders, the archive manager and county grant writer in Logan County.

She said this is not the first time the building has been modernized.

“They discovered along about 1911 or so that the timber in the roof structure was green and it had twisted and it was not sufficient to hold the weight of that original roofline,” she said.

The courthouse still has original features when it was first built in 1904 like the windows inside of the courtroom. Shoulders also said that over the past decades, elevators and other electrical advances have been added to the space.

“Definitely looking into grants, preservation, historic types of grants to see what we can come up with to preserve this piece of history,” said Shoulders.

The archives hold over two decades’ worth of files. Logan County’s records date to Sept. 1, of 1792.

That includes records like the Harp trial, where two outlaw brothers killed multiple people in Logan County. It’s one of the most notorious cases presented in the county. 

Fast forward to today, the courthouse continues to stand tall, with some of the original structures as a reminder that history still affects us all today. Whether it needs a touchup, it displays the integrity of Logan County.

“We think more of it as a little modernizing it. The judge has plans to cover up some of the existing plaster. There’s lead based paint in there. I know that we have plans to replace the carpet in the courtroom because it is loose in places,” Shoulders said.

We will keep you updated with information as it becomes available.