Repairs, restoration of Grant Co. Courthouse exterior nearly done

EPHRATA — Repairs to the steps and sections of the exterior of the Grant County Courthouse are almost complete. Construction crews have been working on the terracotta panels on the ground floor exterior, the columns and portico, and the decorative elements around the top floor.

When the restoration work is done county officials will commemorate its completion by opening the time capsule that was sealed when the building was dedicated.

Central Services Director Tom Gaines said the terracotta was developing cracks and pitting, and that it also needed regrouting. County officials wanted to make sure the courthouse was repaired in a way that recognized and respected its history, he said.

“It’s a labor of love. It’s a beautiful building, and we want it to look this way another hundred years,” he said.

Approving the construction of a new courthouse was one of the first acts of the commissioners of the new county; it was completed in 1911. The commissioners at the time wanted something worthy of a county that was only about two years old. The final bill was about $63,000 — which was a lot of money in 1911, and two commissioners were recalled over the cost, Gaines said.

“It was pretty well built,” Gaine said. “The amount of work that went into it, the craftsmanship, is pretty amazing.”

County officials started repair efforts about 2016, Gaines said, and the work has continued, off and on, ever since. The county received grant funding from the Washington Department of Historical and Architectural Preservation to pay for the project.

It’s a very competitive grant process, he said, and the county has applied for multiple grants.

“We’ve been lucky enough to get funded each time we’ve asked,” he said.

Both the steps and the terracotta tile developed cracks and the tiles were showing signs of moisture damage, Gaines said. County officials couldn’t find the source of the moisture and decided to start by fixing the steps. Fixing the steps solved the moisture problem, so the focus moved on to the terracotta and the granite that’s part of the foundation, which was also showing signs of wear. The tiles and columns needed regrouting.

Gaines said as the project went along he learned more details of the building’s history.

“There was a fire that almost burned the thing down,” he said. “You can still see the charred wood.”

Nobody seemed to know the date, however. A local historian tracked it down, discovering it was about 1952.

Part of the restoration involved the removal of a pair of cast-iron lamps at the bottom of the stairs, which were cracked and beyond repair. The company that made them is still in business, but the molds no longer existed and the company declined to help recreate them. County Facilities and Maintenance Manager Kevin Schmidt discovered the lamps were very similar to some in downtown Ephrata, Gaines said, and with that county officials managed to get almost an exact replica of the originals.

As befitted an important structure in 1911, the building had something to mark the occasion of its completion.

“That lower corner, that initial stone that was laid is actually a time capsule,” Gaines said.

It’s never been opened, although there is a list of what’s supposed to be in it, he said. County officials will open it, add some new items and seal it up again.

“It’ll be interesting to see what’s in there,” he said.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com .