Sheriff Don Albrecht has a two-pronged plan for the the Macoupin County Courthouse in Carlinville, Ill. First, place it on the National Register of Historic Places. Second, use that designation to help get federal grants to restore the historic building, reports the Springfield Journal-Register.
The sandstone exterior of the landmark, Albrecht says, needs refurbishing, but the county is financially strapped, and residents are tightening their belts because of the closures of two area coal mines and what Albrecht calls “tough economic times.”
But refurbishing is important to maintaining a site that attracts visitors from throughout the United States and abroad, he said.
The domed courthouse was known as the “million-dollar courthouse” when it was built in 1870, at a time when a $1 million construction budget was lavish. The final cost of the courthouse actually came to more than $1.3 million, though the widespread suspicion was that some of that money found its way into the pockets of local officials.
It’s startling to realize the distinctive courthouse isn’t on the National Register. Talk about an overdue effort …
Carlinville is on the 1926-30 alignment of Route 66, and the courthouse is easily visible from the road.