Courthouse books – Volume One – 2012 year end

Our publication series is off to a good start.  Although funding is limited (I’m guessing most Americans can relate), our excitement and hopefulness runs high for 2013!  Out now and available is our first printed edition of Volume One – Historic Courthouse Architecture of Mississippi.  Most of the hardbacks are sold, while we have about 50 paperbacks still in inventory.  We are working on a few edits before we go to a second printing of only hardbacks. We’ve uncovered a few additional images and information since the first printing a few months ago, so look for an improved cover design as well as two multi-page illustrations of original drawings by the courthouse architects.

This volume one on Mississippi is about 130 pages and sells for $55 plus tax (hardback) and $40 plus tax (paperback).  A sample 8.5×11 page follows below:

We view each volume of Historic Courthouse Architecture as a brief catalog or an abbreviated encyclopedia where each county is organized in a simple format for both amateurs and professionals to enjoy.  These are, so far, documents unlike any others to date – only one exists for MS and it’s not colorful or nearly as informative; we don’t believe Alabama ever had a courthouse book published.  Within these pages continues a journey into the past, through the present, and towards the future.  Both historic and contemporary images are sure to surprise and inspire the further exploration of the mysterious places of the “Old South” or the “Old Southwest”.  Our research and photographic essays illustrate the extraordinary intellect and work ethic of those American pioneers of the 18th and 19th centuries.   These early town planners of America sought for and achieved an academic excellence in civic architecture & art that many argue is lost today.

Order your copy(s) today, and pre-orders of the Alabama book have begun – it should be ready by summer/fall of 2013.  Email us at tracy@benchmarkward.com for ordering directions as the process keeps evolving….thank you!

Mississippi Courthouses book

Our publication is getting very close.  First out will be a standard eBook offered through most common devices.  We are also developing a special app version for Apple devices, i.e. an iBook.  Simultaneously, we are creating a version that can be offered as a printed paper back as well.

Anticipated available October 2012

MSU Special Collections Library

Early photograph from ca 1902 Hinds County – Jackson Courthouse (courtesy of USGW archives)

I look forward to future opportunities to explore the forgotten back rooms, the storage closets, the musty basements, and the stale, dusty attics of courthouses across the Southeast.   Those are the places where valuable relics of the past will be found and resuscitated back to a new life.  But today, we at The American History Guild are excited that one of those treasure troves was unlocked this week allowing the study of the professional architectural processes of days past, as well as a detailed glimpse into the civic traditions of 100+ years ago.

This Neoclassical structure was designed by William S. Hull in 1902 but was demolished less than 30 years later. (courtesy MSU Special Collections)

We are proud The American History Guild could play a small role in the preservation of these documents by ‘footing the bill’ to have seven courthouse sets of original drawings scanned by Jackson Blueprint.  Now saved electronically for future research, reference and enjoyment are beautiful hand drawn artful construction drawings for these courthouse structures –

Alcorn County.  Corinth, Mississippi.  1918, N.W. Overstreet
Bolivar County.  Cleveland, Mississippi. 1922, N.W. Overstreet
Franklin County.  Meadville, Mississippi.  1921.Overstreet and Spencer Architects
Hinds County, Jackson, Mississippi. 1902, William S. Hull, Architect
Humphreys County.  Belzoni, Mississippi.  1921. Kramer and Lindsey
Pontotoc County. Pontotoc, Mississippi.  1915.  N.W. Overstreet.
Tunica County.  Tunica, Mississippi.  1920. Frank P. Gates Co., Architects

A special thanks to Mattie Abraham, Manuscripts Coordinator, Special Collections Department of Mississippi State University Libraries.  Her careful protection of these invaluable documents was pleasantly apparent as she personally showed them to me on campus, and then recently carried the fragile linen artwork to Jackson to be scanned.

Reminder, our first publication of Mississippi courthouse research is tentatively available this October 2012 as an E-book…perfect for those of us that call Mississippi “home” and want to learn more about our history…and our future!

Mr. D. Tracy Ward, Architect
Architectural Historian for The American History Guild
Mississippi Chairman for The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art

HCA – Ebook update May 2012

Union County, New Albany

As spring quickly heats up, school finishes out and summer swings in, our initial publication for Historic Courthouse Architecture of Mississippi gets closer to release.  I have about 20 more site visits to make (I’ve made about 70 over the last 3 years), and many of those will take place over the Memorial Day weekend.  The initial publication format will be available as an electronic book (Ebook) hopefully in time for the Christmas buying season this year 2012.

Floor Plan 1920s

We are excited to have finally in process the scanning of several historic documents housed in the Special Collections Library at Mississippi State University. These construction drawings and design renderings have never been available to the public without special permission, and then only for a brief moment in person.  We will now have access to continually study these important documents, which undoubtedly will teach us much about the social norms of the early 20th century.

Concept page style for Ebook

Stylistic development is happening now, as well as final edits for each location’s short text description.  The example above is a pitiful graphic of mine before my expert graphics guru, John Schilling, could develop it.  But the idea is that all images, whether my own photography or the old historic postcards and photos, will be a consistent sepia tone for an artistic and harmonious presentation.  The overall publication should be not only full of interesting text (story) content, but the graphics will be visually pleasing and perhaps even inspiring to both young and….the not so young!

Lastly, the decision to initially publish as an Ebook also allows us to continue gathering images and information as well as refining our stories before going to a hard bound coffee table format.  So we will integrate into the Ebook methodologies (direct links) for readers to submit their own stories and images for integration into a future publication.  And this Mississippi publication is the first in a series of other States, that will of course be years in the making.

Mr. D. Tracy Ward
Architectural Historian for the American History Guild

Why Courthouses?

Photography Copyright 2010 – D. Tracy Ward

So why Court Houses?  The County Courthouse is the tangible product of the unique legal system of the United States, and in many ways it’s a distinctively American building typology.  Simply stated, the United States delegates or distributes its governing powers beginning with the National government at the top;  down to State governments;  down to County governments;  and then down to local City & Town municipalities.  As the United States slowly took shape in the 18^th and 19^th centuries, County boundaries were determined, and leaders were appointed to establish in each county a “seat of justice” and erect a courthouse and jail.

The endeavor of the county seat was to provide a convenient location to dispense local law and justice. Therefore the city or town selected as the county seat was typically located at the geographical center of the county. And likewise, the center of town was typically planned with a “town square” which allowed the courthouse to claim the most important and opportune real estate location in the County.  At AHG, we regularly celebrate the brilliance of our country’s Founding Fathers and Mothers.  And this clever and forethoughtful distribution of our country’s law and justice system into “county courts” was one of their most shining accomplishments.

Even today, the academic architecture and thoughtful town planning that came out of that process remains functionally successful and visually awe-inspiring!  Communities that have retained its historic courthouse understand that these classic buildings define the identity of “place”, not only in the past but also for the future.

So why just exteriors?  To clarify – the focus of this publication is the exterior aspects, features, characteristics and its relationship to the surrounding context of the community, the county, the state and the United States at large. As our research collection expands, another publication certainly is possible in the future to investigate the cultural implications of the interior design and functionality of these buildings.  In fact, I am intrigued to collect and analyze the old floor plans to explore the social conditions that would force an architect to design segregated witness rooms, rest rooms, entries and exits, etc.

So why Mississippi?  The original concept for HISTORIC COURTHOUSE ARCHITECTURE began as a single volume study of county courthouses only in the state of Georgia, primarily because it was my home state at the time.  However, with the economic recession of 2008-2012, my architectural business began to push to other states in search of projects with associated fees and income.  One particularly unique business opportunity came my way in my childhood state of Mississippi in 2008.  As that project and other opportunities were cultivated, so expanded my time in Mississippi.  In those early stages of gathering research and photography for the HCA book, my office, home and family was in Georgia.  So my travels to Mississippi carried me across Georgia and Alabama, often exploring the historic back roads in lieu of the established interstates.  I stopped constantly to photograph historic structures, including City Halls and Courthouses.  So it quickly became apparent to me that my original concept of one book might readily (but not easily) be expanded into many years collecting images and stories across multiple states.  Beginning the collection with Mississippi makes sense if for no other reason….expediency.  You see, MS has only 82 counties, while Georgia has 159.

HISTORIC COURTHOUSE ARCHITECTURE is a collection of volumes (per State) gathered and organized from individual County jurisdictions in the United States.  We present this study of history and architecture as not only an enjoyable glimpse at the early development of our country, but we also trust this information provides an understanding of the past that will enable future generations to learn from our predecessor’s mistakes, as well as their successful achievements.  HCA presents herein many beautiful examples of civic planning and academic architecture, and displays them in various electronic formats, which we hope will inspire and enthuse the next generation of leaders, town planners, architects as well as regular folks simply fascinated and entertained by cultural and architectural history.

Mr. Tracy Ward, Architect, Architectural Historian – The American History Guild