Happy Birthday, Avoyelles Parish Courthouse

For 90 years the four-story structure on North Main Street in Marksville has served as the seat of Avoyelles Parish government and justice for longer than the previous three courthouses combined.

Commemoration of the “Grand Dame’s” 90th anniversary will be included in this year’s Solomon Northup Freedom Day, Jan. 4. on Courthouse Square.

“It will be appropriate to honor the courthouse in conjunction with Solomon Northup Freedom Day,” Police Jury President Charles Jones said. “The seat of parish government played an important part in the life of Solomon Northup and in the life of this parish. It is important to recognize that.”

The courthouse that figured into Northup’s case was a brick structure built in 1837.

The Old Bell Tower Bell, manufactured in 1858, was mounted on the courthouse’s front steps after the 1896 courthouse’s bell tower was destroyed.

Avoyelles Tourism Director Wilbert Carmouche said the bell will be tolled in recognition of the courthouse’s birthday.

“I think we will only ring it nine times, for the nine decades of service,” Jones said. “We might break it if we ring it 90 times,” he added with a laugh.

‘NEW COURTHOUSE' COST

The Police Jury awarded Caldwell Brothers, an Abbeville construction company, the contract for $212,950 to build the new courthouse on Courthouse Square in Marksville on Jan. 5, 1927. The old courthouse buildings were knocked down and parish business was conducted in rented sites downtown. Final inspection of the new courthouse was Dec. 16, 1927.

On Jan. 10, 1928, more than 5,000 people attended the dedication ceremony. The event included a parade, a concert by the Standard Oil Band and several guest speakers, including state Supreme Court Justice Winston Overton.

Once equipment and furniture were installed, the total cost for the new courthouse was about $250,000. Based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, that is equal today to almost $3 million to build the structure and $500,000 for equipment and furnishings.

A major feature of the courthouse was including the parish prison on the fourth floor, complete with a gallows for execution. Prior to that time, the jail had always been separate from the courthouse. The parish went back to that model in 1980 when the jail was closed, the 4th floor abandoned and a new parish detention center was built on La. Hwy 1 in Marksville.

While many may complain that the courthouse roof is leaking and it has other problems due to its age, most will agree that when a new courthouse is built at some time in the future, it most likely will never celebrate its 90th anniversary.

An attempt to build a new courthouse on La. Hwy 1, away from the traditional downtown square, was abandoned after voters defeated a proposed $1.85 million bond issue in April 1971.

The courthouse was “built to last,” and it has. Its critics say the building does not meet the needs of a modern world.

Because it had so many unsecured entrances, the parish had to close all but one door on the first floor in the rear of the courthouse, facing Washington Street. A new structure could be built to allow more entrances and exits without compromising security, they argue.

Over the years, some offices have been relocated out of the building, including the Sheriff, District Attorney, County Agent and School Board.

While the notion of a new courthouse surfaces from time to time -- or at least a new annex to house the courtrooms -- there are still those who want to improve on what is there.

The Police Jury has sought state funds and grants to renovate the 4th floor to at least serve as a holding area for inmates awaiting a court appearance. At this time, the inmates must mingle with the general public there for court. There is no secure area where the inmates can be isolated from the public and brought down when their case is being considered.

A $100,000 electrical and utility renovation project, funded by a donation from the Assessor’s Office, was recently completed. Other repairs have also been done on the building and grounds over the past several years.

ELSEWHERE IN 1927

While the courthouse was being built, about half of the parish was inundated in the Great Flood of 1927 -- one of the nation’s most devastating natural disasters. Damages along the length of the Mississippi totaled about $1 billion in 1927 dollars, which was equal to about one-third of the U.S. budget in 1927. The flood forced over 637,000 people to evacuate their homes, with about 94 percent of those in Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana.

Other major events in the nation that occurred in 1927 were the first transatlantic phone call, from New York City to London, on Jan. 7; the founding of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences on May 11; Charles Lindbergh’s solo flight across the Atlantic, from New York to Paris, in the Spirit of St. Louis on May 20-21; a live demonstration of television in New York on May 23; the release of The Jazz Singer, starring Al Jolson, the first “talkie” that signaled the end of the silent movie era; and Ford Motors’ decision to replace the Model T, in production since 1908, with the Model A.

Over in Germany, the Bavarian State lifted a two-year ban on speeches by a political fanatic named Adolph Hitler, allowing him to once again speak in public. Later that year, Hitler’s Nazi followers fought Communists in city streets. He continued to grow in popularity. In 1933, he became chancellor of Germany.

The 1927 flood is credited as being a significant factor in the 1928 elections of Huey P. Long as Louisiana governor and of Herbert Hoover -- Calvin Coolidge’s secretary of commerce in charge of the federal disaster response -- as president in 1928.

When news of ill treatment of African-Americans in the federally-run refugee camps surfaced, the backlash started the move of black voters to leave the “Party of Lincoln” and join the Democrats.

All in all, 1927 left its mark on Avoyelles, Louisiana, America and the world.