Courthouse fire brings heartache in Chatham

Commissioners vote to rebuild historic and beloved landmark

A fire sparked by a construction worker who was using a soldering iron for repair work ravaged the Historic Chatham County Courthouse just before 5 p.m. on March 25. By the time the fire was finally extinguished the next day, little was left standing but the four exterior walls and scaffolding that had been erected for the refurbishing project.

A fire rages at the Historic Chatham County Courthouse on March 25. The building was undergoing a renovation and was surrounded by scaffolding. (Photo courtesy Chatham County)

The blaze was so intense, and the damage so abundant, that county workers initially feared the worst in the days immediately after the blaze. But when architects and engineers were finally able to examine the charred remains just over a week later, they found the walls were structurally sound enough to sustain a rebuilding project. It didn't take Chatham County commissioners long to decide to rebuild the courthouse.

"The exact nature of the restoration will be determined later," Vice Chairman George Lucier said March 31 after the Board voted to rebuild. "We will form a task force and involve the community, Pittsboro, and court personnel to help us make the best decisions. Our goal is that the fire of 2010 will be part of the history of the courthouse, not the end of it."

The original two-story courthouse was built in 1881 by J. Bynum and William Lord London of Pittsboro for $10,666. A major renovation during the 1930s resulted in a one-story addition to the ground floor, and the interior was extensively remodeled in 1959. A clock tower was added in the early 1990s. The tower collapsed the night the fire started.

The courthouse is situated prominently inside a traffic circle in the heart of downtown Pittsboro. Residents throughout the county routinely pass by the courthouse, making it the most visible landmark in the county and causing many residents to feel the loss personally. This emotional reaction convinced commissioners that the courthouse needed to be saved if at all possible.

The courthouse in October 2009, prior to the beginning of renovations. (Photo by Jason King)

"The courthouse is an icon of our community," Board Chair Sally Kost told The News & Observer of Raleigh. "Fifty years from now, we want people to come through and see our building."

State investigators determined the blaze was started by a construction worker who was using a soldering iron to repair gutters on the roof, Chatham County Fire Marshall Thomas Bender said in a statement released March 30. The repair was being done as part of a $410,000 restoration of the building's exterior, the first such work in nearly two decades, Chatham officials said.

"A thorough investigation of the evidence led us to a conclusion fairly quickly," said Bender. "It is common for rumors about the cause to circulate throughout the community when you have a disaster of this magnitude."

The courthouse had recently been the scene of several hearings related to a DVD involving former Sen. John Edwards and a former member of his 2008 Presidential campaign staff. Court officials were quick to point out that the DVD was not in the courthouse when it caught fire, but there had been some speculation that the fire was related to the presence of the video.

While there were no county administrative offices in the courthouse, the building did house the District Attorney's Office and offices for judges and other court personnel. Many court records were destroyed or damaged.

The courthouse on April 5. (Photo by Todd McGee)

Within two weeks of the fire, Chatham County had secured alternate office space for court personnel and a place to host court sessions. Assistant County Manager Renee Paschal said court will be held in the agricultural building auditorium for the next several months or until a more permanent space can be found, and that the Chatham County District Attorney's Office will move into a vacant law office on West Street, while the probation office will move next to the General Store Café on West Street.

"Both of these facilities are located within walking distance of courtrooms and other court staff, which is an important factor for effective court operations," Paschal said.

The courthouse also contained the Chatham Historical Museum, which occupied a small room in the southwest corner of the first floor. The museum's collection includes a colonial warrant signed by William Hooper, who is a signer of the Declaration of Independence and served as the first Chatham County Clerk of Court.

Many of the artifacts and historical documents contained in the museum were spared significant damage when the upper floors collapsed during the night as the fire continued to burn. The debris protected many of the items from water and/or smoke damage.

No injuries were reported, even though the blaze spread quickly and numerous firefighters were involved in the battle.

Clerk's e-mail revealing of feelings toward courthouse

A few days after the fire, Chatham County Clerk to the Board Sandra B. Sublett penned an e-mail to county clerks that conveys the heartache that many in the county felt while watching the courthouse burn.

"Many of us watched with tears streaming down our faces. The hurt is still raw," she wrote.

"Many people may think this is just a building, but it was so much more than that to our county. The phrase, 'if these walls could talk' is never more appropriate than in this case. I feel as if we have lost a member of our family. Many of my commissioners have been sworn in there over the years. Local democracy was alive in this building during many, many public hearings, and it served as a centerpiece as Chatham County honored those fallen after 9/11.

"I sit about one hundred feet from our beloved old courthouse. I look out my window now at a shell of a building and realize that the memories and history are now our responsibility to carry forward as we decide how and when to rebuild."