New Corson County Courthouse

The Chief herewith presents a view of the new courthouse completed in McIntosh several months ago. The view shows the large concrete vault on the east side of the building-provided for the safe keeping of the records of the county. This building was built by the city of McIntosh at a cost of over $4000.00 and the county has been granted the use of the building, absolutely without cost, to be used for courthouse purposes until such a time as the county builds a courthouse of their own. The block of ground upon which the building stands was donated to the county as long as it is used for courthouse purposes-be that period be one year or one hundred years. There is no other conditions in the terms of the contract. The location is ideal for a courthouse site, the round being high and sitting in the heart of the city-just one block from Main Street. The value of the site alone reaches many thousands of dollars, and the county has the privilege of acquiring this property without a cost of one cent. All that is required according to the terms of the contract is that it be used for courthouse purposes.
The new courthouse built at the expense of the progressive and wide-awake citizens of the city of McIntosh is the best courthouse which any new county in the state has ever had. The size of the building is 24x80, two stories in height. There is ample room for all of the county offices for many years to come, and an excellent room upstairs for holding court and other gatherings where large crowds will be present. This new building is a credit to the city and county and will answer all demands in that line for the next ten or fifteen years.
These are matters which the voters of the county will consider at the coming election on the 8th of next month. By voting against county division and in favor of McIntosh for the county seat two heavy items of expense will be avoided. The first is the saving of at least fifty per cent in the increase of taxes and the maintenance of an extra set of county officials. The second consideration is avoiding the securing of another site and the building of new county buildings, which item alone will run up into thousands of dollars.
The county is new and as yet quite thinly settled; new settlers are coming in all the time and a settled condition of county seat matters will have a tendency to stimulate this movement to the greatest possible degree. Newcomers will understand that taxes will be much lighter than if the county should be divided, and also that there will be no expense in furnishing county buildings for at least ten or fifteen years.
Those who are familiar with the facts and are not personally interested in the success of either Morristown or McLaughlin realize full well that county division and the change of county seat would work an unnecessary burden in increased taxes and expense of providing new county buildings. They are also aware of the fact that the minimum of taxation and other public expenses will induce homeseekers to locate in the county, and that the more thickly settled the country becomes, the more valuable all lands and other property will become. Therefore, it is to the interest of everyone to see that the county is not divided and that the county seat is not moved from its present commodious quarters.
Taken from Corson County Chief October 5, 1910