Mercer Courthouse and sale date

in PA not NJ.  I was chosen for the first group of jurors, walked in the icy frigid temps, and today in the freezing rain (now just rain).  After all that, the accused settled for a plea bargain and I'm home and done.  I am grateful.  I am not a social person, lack confidence in all areas, and as I age it has only gotten worse.  So being with strangers and deciding someone's fate was not something I was looking forward to.  But if the case involved animal or child abuse, I would have jumped up and screamed for the death penalty.

 

The interior of our old courthouse is wonderful and I would love to wander and gaze, but there was no doubt I would be lost and end up where I was not welcome.  So I took a few photos on my $5 phone and this is its history.

History of The Mercer County Courthouse

The First Courthouse was built on the current site in 1807 from the proceeds of the sales of lots in Mercer at a cost of $7,116. The courthouse was a square structure of brick, two stories high, with wings on the east and west sides of the first story. The lower story was occupied by the court room. The upper story was divided into jury rooms and the wings housed the county offices. In 1840 the wings were taken down and large additions were made at a cost of $1,500. The building was then destroyed by fire in 1866, but all official records were saved from the fire.

The Second Courthouse was built immediately after the first Courthouse burned down at a cost of $100,000. It was made of red brick with stone trimmings and was surmounted by a belfry to which was later added a town clock. This Courthouse then burned down in December 1907. All official records were saved from the fire.

The Present Courthouse was erected in 1909 at a cost of approximately $500,000. The contractor suffered a huge loss since he had bid it at $324,000. The architect was Charles F. Owsley.

 

The very wide marble stairs have the most gorgeous bronze? brass? railings and wood throughout.   After my initial gasp at the workmanship, I wondered who dusts them.  I chose to not take the elevator because climbing these steps and the second series was a treat.  Sort of a breathless treat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Doors are original and even the old windows have their original hardware and hinges on the push out casement windows.

 

I was not allowed to photograph the jury and court rooms on the second floor, all with stained glass ceilings and magnificent light pendants.  There is a third floor with additional modern court rooms above the glass but with lights between the floors, their colors shine brightly.

 

This is the rotunda ceiling.  Not really a round room, but close enough.

 

The balconies and courtrooms that surround the rotunda.  There are large wooden pews in the second floor court rooms and they also line the halls outside of them.  All the wood appears to be walnut but I'm not a pro at identifying wood species.  The wainscot and elaborate door casings throughout are perfectly aged and matched.  There are other court houses in PA that are just as nice or even more so, but for this small area it is very nice.  Mercer was one of PA's "dry towns" where no bars/alcohol exist.  Not sure if it has changed.  The population is less than 2000.

 



There was something that sort of shocked me.  For some reason, maybe because I don't have a phone filled with selfies and photos, I picture myself in my head as I looked many years ago.  Well the shock came when I saw myself passing in a large beautifully ornate mirror and thought …. who the hell is that?  Holy crap.  That's the old woman that couldn't get off the restroom's standard height commode and afraid of breaking the toilet paper holder in the giddy-up process.

OK.  I am listing the for sale items tomorrow at 7pm est.  I will send another post at that time but for those of you that only get updates at night, I wanted to let you know ahead of time.

 

Terri sent me an email and recommended KrudKutter (Home Depot) for any type of stain without ruining your fabric.  Will definitely look for it.

 

I bought a Rubbermaid FreshWorks container and it worked for my lettuce.  I open the salad bags and lay the contents on a dish towel, pick out any bad pieces, and let it dry a little.  Then I put it all into the FreshWorks with a half piece of paper towel on top and it stays nice and fresh for days.  That never happens when kept in the bag.

 

Hope your week is going well!

Thanks for visiting.

 

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