Scott County Historical Society
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Scott County Courthouse was destroyed by fire of unknown origin Wednesday night, loss heavy
Published in Scott County Chronicle – Vol. 11 No. 2 September-October, 2020
Scott County Officials save part of their records while all have suffered rather heavily on loss of fixtures
The county courthouse at Huntsville was burned Wednesday by a fire of unknown origin which broke out some time before midnight and which was unable to be controlled. The alarm was given but there is no fire-fighting equipment in Huntsville. The Oneida Fire Department, ten miles away, was called but for some reason were unable to perform properly and failed to extinguish the blaze. The courthouse housed the county officials including that of County Judge, Roscoe Byrd; County Trustee, Caldwell Smither; County Register, M.D. Lawson; Clerk and Master, Porter B. Rector; County Court Clerk, L. Maynard Jeffers; County Supt. Of Schools, John Lee West; Circuit Court Clerk, Ted Q. Wilson; Supt. Of Roads, G.W. Rector; and others. The fire was still smoldering when the editor of the News viewed the situation yesterday, just before noon and the vaults of the Trustee and County Court Clerk had not been opened. Supt. West’s office was completely demolished and, we understand, not anything was saved. The office of Ted Q. Wilson, Circuit Court Clerk, fared better and it appeared that many of his records were saved. The Supt. Of Roads office was pretty hard hit and records destroyed. Office of Judge Byrd was badly damaged with many records destroyed. Clerk L. M. Jeffers lost a good number of records and it is thought within the vault many of his papers and books will be in good condition. The office of Clerk and Master, Rector was pretty well demolished with books and records thrown into the yard in an effort to save them from the fire. (ILLEGIBLE) Until officials have time to check over the remains of their books and records it is difficult to estimate the full loss, however many of the valuable records of the county went up in the flames. The courthouse was constructed of native stone in 1904 more than 40 years ago. In the remains with smoke flowing through the halls could be seen the tablet marking the date 1904, and the names of the building committee plainly inscribed as follows; Joel Robinson, Chairman; E. Hembree, secretary; W.H. Potter, B. Cecil, D. Jeffers. All of the members of the Committee whom have played a prominent parts of the affairs of the county are now dead.
County officers are endeavoring to find locations elsewhere in order to accommodate the public un-til a new courthouse can be constructed which will necessitate a heavy outlay of the taxpayers and which will be some time.
(Scott County News December, 1946)