THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 21, 1994 TAG: 9408200123
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: By FRANK ROBERTS, staff writer
DATELINE: GATESVILLE, N.C. LENGTH: Long : 141 lines
YE OLDE GATES County Courthouse looks as if it belongs in a little Spanish town rather than a little North Carolina town.
Architecturally, it seems as out of place as a screen door on a submarine.
The two-story building served the county from 1836 to 1976 as a courthouse; jail; headquarters for law enforcement officers and driver's license examiners, tax supervisors, Register of Deeds and Clerk of Court; library storage room; and meeting place.
It now houses a modern library downstairs, but the entrance doors seem to lead into the past, one reading ``Office Register of Deeds,'' the other ``Office of Clerk of Court.''
``Those doors will stay,'' said Louise Parker Lyon, treasurer of the Gates County Historical Society, the non-profit organization working to keep the courthouse from becoming a parking lot.
Too often the rule-of-thumb seems to be to tear down a historic edifice and put up a parking lot.
Lyon, who is 79, sneers at the thought but does not dismiss it.
``The Society has a 15-year lease until 1996 with option to renew,'' she said. ``If it's not renewed, the county gets the property to use as they see fit.
``Some people wanted to tear it down for a parking lot,'' said Lyon, adding that her organization is seeking funds for a coordinator to keep the building, ``because some of us are getting older, and the younger ones are not taking an interest.''
Enough interest has been shown since the building was shuttered in 1976 to net $750,000 in restoration funds - federal, state and local money plus donations from descendants of established Gates County families, foundation contributions and, at one point, $325 from a Christmas party. The building, which is open to the public, is nearly completely restored, Lyon said. ``One children's room in the library, the jail and a mini-museum are not completed. The parking area and landscaping are yet to be done.''
Mother Nature once gave the courthouse her own version of landscaping. For many years, the building was shaded by elm trees on a gentle slope.
The slope is still there, but the trees have long since been replaced by concrete.
Since 1870, there have been some renovations and additions, but the front part of the old courthouse building is original.
A stroll around and through the estimable structure, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, best illustrates the reason for the ``save-the-building'' efforts.
Lyon, a lovely, robust, inveterate gum-chewer, delights in showing visitors her pride and joy. She knows the whys and wherefores of every courthouse corner.
``The building has five levels. It's like a split-level house,'' she said. ``There are three stories in the back, two in front.
``Everything as is - as they were,'' Lyon said, a statement you do not question as you look at the courtroom, jury room and other areas resembling pages from an illustrated history book.
Many books, as old as the building in which they are stored, can be found there, some of the most impressive lining the shelves of a room used for genealogical research.
Deeds, wills and family histories share space with The Colonial Records of North Carolina, dating back to 1662.
The book set was published in Raleigh in 1886. Another set of publications is the 13-volume History of North Carolina Troops From 1861-65.
There is the expected - a portrait of Robert E. Lee - and the unexpected. Outside the courthouse stands a monument - a Union soldier, facing north.
A wall in the courthouse is filled with Civil War graffiti. Among the easier-to-read pencilings are names and such phrases as ``please be still'' and ``well being.''
And, for the romantics, there is a heart with the names of Ernest and April.
You cannot get away from war when you are surrounded by history.
A Patriot's Room, featuring a service honor roll, contains World War II literature and a World War I tribute to Pvt. Emmett V. Hofler, who was killed in France.
Back to World War II and booklets that remind the over-50 crowd that one of the courthouse rooms was used, during those years, by the Civil Defense Corps.
It was the Revolutionary War that gave the area its name.
Gen. Horatio Gates was a British soldier who later joined the American army to fight his countrymen during the war.
``Later, he got into trouble in South Carolina. He retreated. That gave him a bad name,'' Lyon said. ``He had the good sense to retreat. He went up north and became famous.''
Some famous Gates County folk are being recognized during the courthouse renovation efforts.
The Phil Godwin Room is a tribute to the longtime area legislator and his family, whose gifts helped with the restoration. His law office is now across the street.
The Thad Eure Room is named in honor of the man who served as North Carolina's Secretary of State for more than 50 years.
The Freeman Seiling Suite pays tribute to Frank and Edith Seiling.
``They were instrumental in working with the Society and the county - in getting the Society to lease the building,'' said Pat Familar, county librarian. ``Both of them did a lot of the physical renovation work, such as removing plaster and working on the roof.''
The old courthouse has made one bow to modernity, a necessary one.
``Handicap access is available via a beautiful new elevator with stops on all five levels,'' Lyon said. ``It's the only one in the county.''
The county's new courthouse, a one-story brick structure that went into service in 1976, is kitty-cornered from its predecessor. It's a practical building, but minus the charm of the old edifice.
The area's first courthouse was built in 1780, almost next door to where the new building is located.
The original cost of construction of the building now being renovated is unknown, but the Historical Society found out that the 1780 structure was torn down in 1834 and sold for scrap, bringing in $33.50.
Both buildings were constructed with special taxes levied for each occasion, on land in the county seat of Bennett's Creek - the name was changed to Gatesville in 1830 - given to the commissioners by Dr. John A. Baker.
The front of the second courthouse is a copy of the first, which was a wooden frame structure. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Louise Parker Lyon, treasurer of the Gates County Historical
Society, shows off restoration results in the old courthouse.[color
cover photo]
The Spanish architecture of the old Gates County Courthouse looks
out of place in North Carolina, but the Gates County Historical
Society is fighting to keep it from being torn down. Enough interest
has been shown since the building was shuttered to net $750,000 in
restoration money - from federal, state and local funds plus
donations from private sources - including $325 from a Christmas
party.
A tribute to Pvt. Emmett V. Hofler, a Gates County native who was
killed in France in World War I, is in the Patriot's Room, which
also contains World War II literature.
Louise Parker Lyon knows every nook and cranny of the old
courthouse. As an historical society officer, she's helping in the
fight to preserve the structure. ``Some people wanted to tear it
down for a parking lot,'' she said.
by CNB