Removal of Scaffolding, Courthouse Road Reopening Set for Next Week

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

It’s been a long wait, but on Monday the downtown scaffolding in front of the historic Anderson County Courthouse will be removed.

The $7 million renovation of the courthouse, which included structural work needed to save the 128-year-old building which has become the county’s most recognizable icon. Mold removal, significant repairs to save the clock tower, reroofing with orignal tile shingles, and the repoiting of brick were part of the massive overhaul aimed at not only restoring the courthouse to a place that is safe for those who work and meet there, but ensuring it will be fit to last another century in the center of downtown.

But perhaps most impressive is the return of the original copper tower roof and trim that adorns the building, something that has become a destination for visitors downtown to both marvel at and to photograph.

The clearing of the road and parking area behind the courthouse is scheduled to be open by the end of the day April 3, ushering in welcome relief to the detour that has been in place for more than a year.

Designed by architect Frank P. Milburn, the Eclectic and Victorian-style building is the centerpiece of the Anderson Downtown Historic District. It is the third courthouse to stand on that square, replacing earlier structures from 1826 and 1852. By the late 1930s, Anderson County officials were out of room, and a commission briefly considered razing the 1898 courthouse entirely before opting, in 1938, for an ambitious makeover instead. Between 1939-1940, the west front was stripped of its asymmetrical Victorian drama—the right-hand tower and Romanesque arch sacrificed so a matching wing could be built on that side—while a large rear annex was added for offices. The result was a more balanced, modern profile that still kept the courthouse the visual anchor of downtown, a status later recognized with its listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.