By Cass Rains
Brick by brick the Centennial Wall at the Alfalfa County Courthouse was taken apart to be rebuilt as part of the Courthouse Improvement and Preservation Committee’s (CHIP) plans to restore the 85-year-old building.
Originally a project of the Cherokee Rotary Club, the wall was built in 1993 as part of the Cherokee Strip Run Centennial Celebration.
The location was supposed to be the southwest corner of the grounds, but it was erected in front of the building, obscuring the courthouse’s cornerstone and detracting from the overall look of the building and ground, said Sonya Booher, project chairwoman.
“We’re trying to get it back to what it used to be,” she said of the courthouse, where she is the county assessor.
The original wall had engraved bricks, which were saved and will be cleaned and used in the reconstruction of the wall, Booher said.
Again, engraved bricks for the wall are being sold for $30, with a purchase deadline of March 31. The project could be finished as soon as mid-April.
Bids for moving the wall were taken in late November, Booher said, with the lowest bid coming from Knabe Masonry, of Alva, at a little more than $11,000.
Graphic arts students at Autry Technology Center in Enid created computer-generated images of the wall in its new location.
“These color drawings were a great help with our fundraising campaign,” Booher said.
With help from fundraisers and donations, the rest of the money raised came from a $3,000 Rural Economic Action Plan grants through Sen. David Myers and an additional $7,500 REAP Grant for Alfalfa.
“The wall has been dismantled and the concrete pad is under construction,” Booher said.
The new wall will be located at the southwest corner of the courthouse lawn.
CHIP has been able to finish several restoration projects, including the restoration of a WW I monument, “The Spirit of the American Doughboy,” and have a few more in sight in the future, including replacing the building’s fluorescent lighting.
“The Cherokee American Legion has given us the pendant schoolhouse-style lights from their no-longer-in-use Legion Hut,” Booher said. “These will be installed beginning on the first floor. Additional light will be reproductions, unless we are able to obtain some more old ones.”
The three-story courthouse was built in 1921 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
It’s exterior is a hammered satin finish stone and it’s interior walls are plaster with Tennessee marble wainscot and terrazzo floors. The contract required no wood remain in the building, which was to be fireproof, and the total cost, with furnishings, costing $170,000, which was paid for with over four years through an 8-mill tax.
Engraved bricks to be included in the new Centennial Wall can be purchased by calling (580) 596-2145. Orders for engraved bricks received after the March 31 deadline will be a higher price.
