Menu
Restoration efforts turn to Superior Court mural
On the heels of a successful effort to restore six paintings traditionally housed at the Putnam County Courthouse, local preservationists will turn their attention to the mural in the Putnam Superior Courtroom.
Putnam County Museum board member and volunteer Gwen Morris appeared before the Putnam County Commissioners recently with a twofold purpose.
One was to officially present the six replicas of paintings by Elisha Cowgill that had adorned walls of the courthouse for nearly 90 years.
In 2018, Morris spearheaded an effort to have them loaned to the museum for an exhibit on Cowgill, who in addition to painting landscapes like those at the courthouse, painted portraits as well as serving as an attorney and an elected official for both the City of Greencastle and Putnam County.
While the paintings were on loan, the museum and county partnered in having them restored, an effort that revealed bright colors and even objects in the paintings that had been lost to the years.
Following a sometimes contentious discussion earlier this summer, the Commissioners chose to keep the original paintings on loan to the museum while having replicas made for the courthouse, where at least three Cowgills had disappeared as the decades passed.
Morris had two of these replicas on display for the Commissioners, while three others already adorn a wall in the Putnam County Auditor’s Office on the second floor.
The budget on this part of the project was not to exceed $2,000, and it came in at $1,348.91. With several hundred dollars to spare, Morris asked if she could move forward with producing a brochure that could be made available at the Courthouse about Cowgill and his paintings. The commissioners agreed.
Now Morris would like to see the same sort of restoration effort put into the Superior Courtroom.
The south wall of the courtroom bears a large mural of King Solomon and his judgment between the two prostitutes arguing over the living baby.
When Putnam County had only a single courtroom that occupied most of the east side of the third and fourth floor of the courthouse, the mural was directly behind the judge’s bench. It now occupies the wall to the judge’s left and audience’s right, directly across from the jury box.
“I just think it’s a priceless piece of history that is going to be not there some day because it really needs to be restored,” Morris said.
She further noted that the county would not likely be responsible to pay for the entire restoration.
“I’m sure there would be grants available because it is a historic mural,” Morris said. “I’m pretty sure it would be over $50,000 now. But I’m sure there’s enough grant money to get it done, and we ought to try.”
Judge Denny Bridges looked into the possibility of having the mural restored in 2011, but the $72,000 price tag at that time was cost prohbitive for the Putnam County Council.
However, with other funding possibly available, the Commissioners gave Morris permission to look into possible contractors and grants.
In other business, the Commissioners:
• Heard from Highway Director Clint Maddox that paving work is now complete on county roads for the 2024 season.
This includes 20 miles of work done by County Highway crews and another 14 through the Community Crossings grant.
“In my 36 years, that’s the most hot mix asphalt Putnam County’s ever laid in one year,” Maddox said. “I’m glad to say that because that’s 34 miles I don’t have to patch for a while.”
The department has meanwhile moved on to chip-and-seal work, as well as brush control.
He also gave a positive report on roof work on Rolling Stone Bridge under the direction of local contractor Energy Conservation Solutions.
“ECS has done an excellent job on Rolling Stone Bridge,” Maddox said. “(County Engineer) Jim (Peck) and I were up there Thursday. They have two younger Amish gentlemen working on that, and they are on top of it.”
With Rolling Stone work completed this week, the crew will move on to roof work on Edna Collings Bridge and then siding on Houck Bridge.
“They’ve been extremely fast on that bridge, and everything looked really nice – really good work,” Maddox said.
• Reversed a recent decision in voting to pursue purchase of the old Feld’s Carpet building at Bloomington Street and South Street in Greencastle as a new home for the Putnam County Health Department.
The Commissioners had recently stated that, following a tour of the building, they were not interested in purchase.
However, after a meeting with officials at Putnam County Hospital, the current home of the health department, county officials are less confident about staying at that location without having to move multiple times.
With this in mind, the county hopes to get an agreement with Eric Wolfe of Prime Real Estate to take the building off the market while they meet the statutory requirement of getting two appraisals on the property.
The appraisals will be paid for by grant money the health department already has in its budget.
• Heard from Debbie Mitchell of County Road 725 East, between Groveland and Heritage Lake, regarding flooding on her property.
Mitchell presented a pair of aerial photos of the property in 1989 and present day, showing the difference in standing water and erosion.
Mitchell attributed the water issues to a culvert passing from a farm field on the west side of the road and onto her property.
While no solution was immediately offered, county officials expressed a willingness to look into the issue, with Maddox saying he planned to visit the property later that day.
Mitchell expressed her gratitude.
“When we get a rain, you can go out there and literally sink,” she said. “That’s how much water there is.”
Commissioners David Berry, Tom Helmer and Rick Woodall were all in attendance, along with Deputy Auditor Evelyn Williams and County Attorney Jim Ensley.
The next regular meeting of the Putnam County Commissioners is set for 9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 7 in the Commissioners Courtroom at the Putnam County Courthouse.