Old Berrien County Courthouse Complex
The Old Berrien County Courthouse Complex, also known as the History Center at Courthouse Square, is a historic district located in Berrien Springs, Michigan. The complex is 1.6 acres and is home to five structures, two of which are the oldest of their kind in the state of Michigan. While the property and its buildings are owned by Berrien County and stewarded by the Berrien County Historical Association. While the historic 1839 Courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, the BCHA resubmitted the application to include the remaining property added during the 1970s. The application was approve and the entire complex was added to the register 1982.
History
Berrien County was officially established in 1831, but failed to secure a county seat until 1837. County offices and courts bounced between Niles and St. Joseph before Berrien Springs was chosen for its central location. That same year, the county accepted the donation of property along Union Street and commissioned the construction of the first permanent county building - a two-story wooden jail. After requesting bids in 1838, the county commissioners chose Gilbert B. Avery to construct the County Courthouse. Completed in 1839, the building served as both a site of government and as a community center for Berrien Springs residents.Over the next several decades, the county's growth impacted its operations, and the Commissioners were faced with the need for additional space. In 1860, the county once again turned to Gilbert Avery who designed the Records Building. Built by George Murdock, the one-story building also proved to be to small and a two-story addition was added in 1973. The county records were housed here along with the Registrar and the Probate Judge offices. With this addition, the complex stretched from Union Street to Madison Street and was now hemmed in on all four sides by roads.
Two more building was constructed by the County - the 1870 Sheriff's Office and the County Jail. As before, Avery was hired to design the building, although he ended up overseeing the construction after issues with the builder. The buildings were completed at the end of 1869, with the sheriff and his family moving into the building in January 1870. Once the prisoners being held at the old jail were moved to the new one, that building was then torn down. With a small road passing through the property, visitors to the complex had easy access to each building on foot or by buggy.
Fight for the County Seat
In the early 1870s, discontent with the Courthouse's location began and over the next two decades, the complaints grew louder. Despite being located in the middle of the county, Berrien Springs lacked any direct transportation line, like a railroad. While attempts were made, they repeatedly failed. By 1894, the calls for the county seat to be moved were too large to ignore and in April of that year, a vote was held to determine if it should be moved or not. The weeks leading up to election day were contentious as Berrien Springs, St. Joseph, and Niles vied for the county seat, with newspapers being a spirited part of the process. After Benton Harbor threw its votes behind its sister city, St. Joseph won the election. The loss was a bitter one for Berrien Springs and The Berrien Springs Era didn't hold back as the county began its move, "The motive power used in the removal was mostly furnished by horses, but the direction of affairs was left to the jackasses, of which St. Joe has an abundance." For their part, St. Joseph was quite humble in their victory, tipping their hat to their neighbors after a contentious battle.In 1895, the county began construction on the new courthouse, but while some operations made the move seamless to St. Joseph, some remained in Berrien Springs for at least another year. This included the Sheriff, whose new residence and jail were completed in the early fall of 1895.
A New Era
Despite no longer needing the complex in Berrien Springs, the county was hesitant to sell at first. Residents of Berrien Springs continued to use the Courthouse for meetings, community events, and even established a dance hall and armory. In 1900, Battle Creek College, a Seventh-day Adventist school, made the decision to move to a new location, opting for Berrien Springs. While their new campus was being constructed, the college, which had renamed itself Emmanuel Missionary College approached the county, seeking to rent the old complex buildings. The county agreed and the 1901–1902 school year was held, with administrative offices in the Records building, classes in the Sheriff's Residence and Courthouse, and the courtroom itself serving as the college chapel. After the college moved to its new campus, the buildings were once again left abandoned, with minimal use.By the 1910s, the county split the complex apart and sold off portions to private owners, including the Records Building and the Sheriff's Office. The jail, now in terrible condition, was torn down in 1916. With only the courthouse remaining under county ownership, the old Courthouse Complex was no more. The Seventh-day Adventist community had grown considerably, thanks in part to EMC, and they approached the county to rent the Courthouse as a church. The agreement would remain in place until 1922, when the church elders opted to purchase the building. After purchasing land to the west of the courthouse, the church built an auxiliary building to host meetings for their various groups. By the 1950s, a second building at the corner of M-139 and Madison Streets was constructed, serving as a doctor's office.
The complex would remain under private ownership until the latter half of the 20th century.
Preservation and Additions
In 1965, the SDA Church realized their congregation had outgrown their space and built a new building on Niles Street, less than a mile from the Courthouse. The church officially moved into the new building in 1966 and two of the three buildings it owned on the grounds were shuttered. The sheriff's Residence remained under private ownership during this time and had been converted into apartments, while the Records Building had been turned into a mixed-use building.In 1968, the Berrien County Historical Commission and Berrien County joined forces to purchase the portion of the complex owned by the SDA church, with the goal of saving the Courthouse. For the next eight years, the BCHC raised the funds needed to complete the restoration and completed it in 1975. As the commission decided to rebrand that same year, they also began to focus on securing the remaining two buildings - Records and Sheriff's Residence. By the late 1970s, the latter had been purchased and the former wouldn't be re-added to the property until the 1990s, although the building wouldn't be available for restoration until 2000.
In 1968, the Murdoch Log Cabin was uncovered during a routine demolition. For the next five years, it was debated what would happen to the structure. Extensive research by local historians, aided by Western Michigan University, established the cabin as having been built in approximately 1830 and was the original home for Berrien Springs co-founder Francis Murdoch. In 1973, the BCHC agreed to have the building moved to the Courthouse property and it was placed just behind the courthouse. Two years later, the BCHC rebranded and became the Berrien County Historical Association to better reflect the growth of its mission and properties.
As the BCHC was looking towards other projects, the old auxiliary building and doctor's office had been earmarked for demolition. However, in 1977, the family of local resident George Bennett approached the organization with a substantial donation in their father's name. It was decided that the best way to honor this history lover was to turn the auxiliary building into an exhibit space. The newly minted Bennett's Forge and Buggy Shop was opened to the public in 1978. The doctor's office was torn down in the 1980s.
The Sheriff's Residence was finally available for renovation in the early 1980s and all phases were completed by 1985.. The upper levels were set aside as work space for staff, while the lower level included space for permanent and temporary exhibits. The addition on the back of the house was converted into vaults for the BCHA's growing collections. By 1995, the Jail Plaza, designed to mimic the floor and walls of the old jail, was completed. This would remain the last major renovation project until 2019.
Although the county and the BCHA owned the Records Building since the 1990s, it wasn't until the 2000s before the last of the tenants vacated the property. Plans for the building had been around since the early 1990s, but the cost of the building's rehabilitation meant the BCHA had to raise millions to make their exhibit designs a reality. However, the 2006 recession hampered a planned capital campaign and in 2007, the building caught fire. After repairs to the structure had been made, both the County and the BCHA shifted their priorities to other projects. The building remains closed to the public and serves as storage for oversized collection pieces and for various items belonging to both organizations.
The Future
In 2019, a series of renovations to the properties began in an effort to modernize existing exhibits and to bring much needed repairs to the buildings. The Courthouse received new windows in 2019 and in 2020, the building's wood rot was repair before the entire building was repainted. These were paid for by Berrien County. Interior renovations of permanent exhibit spaces have taken place each year since late 2019 and include the permanent exhibits of the 1839 Courthouse and the Sheriff's Residence. Temporary exhibit space was updated in 2019 and 2021.In 2022, the BCHA will focus on much needed upgrade to the existing collection and archival storage spaces, including new storage to allow space for the existing collection to grow.
Over the next few years, the cabin will be restored and receive exhibit upgrades for both levels while the adjacent garden will be gutted and restructures to be more historical accurate. Bennett's Forge will also be upgraded with new exhibits about early industries in Berrien County, a restructured blacksmith forge, and a new area dedicated to traditional arts education. This will allow for demonstrations and workshops to be safely hosted on the property. The Records Building will be the new home for programming and temporary exhibits as well as the future home for the every growing collections.
The reimagining of these spaces will allow for continued use by audiences of ages and abilities while ensure the buildings remain preserved for years to come.