BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

INEZ — The restoration of the old Martin County Courthouse in Inez is bringing together local history and pride. Martin County Tourism Chair Nita Collier spoke at the Kiwanis Club meeting Thursday at Masterpiece Kitchen & Café and shared how the project began and its ongoing impact.

In 2021, Collier, alongside Jarrod Slone, Linda Booth, Charlotte Anderson, Katrina Sanson and Mandy Sweeney, began envisioning a new life for the courthouse.

“We had already consulted with the Heritage Council. They told us the building is as strong as any structure around,” Collier said, noting that the T-shaped hallways stand on solid concrete foundations and the walls are a solid 20 inches thick.

“It would make a good bomb shelter,” she laughed. “That building isn’t going anywhere. I’m grateful we chose to keep it.”

Collier has collaborated with various county administrations over the years.

“It’s something our community wants and needs,” she said before reading an original poem, Our Courthouse: Our Heart and History:

I was one of the firstborn in 1939 by WPA

With grit and stamina I do not sway

I leave a legacy of generations before

Throughout WWII, Vietnam and Desert Storm wars

My stones were cut in these mountains of home

Men cut, carried and placed each heavy one

Men with names of Damillio, Wells and others

Worked and shared masonry skills with many brothers

I held the largest courtroom in the state

Oakwood floors stamped “Made in the USA”

My majestic wood coppered ceiling such a catch of the eye

Beautiful arched steel windows bring much  light

My walls of plaster are inches of 20

Have held with strength through decades of many

My transom windows over mission oak doors

My hallways covered with terrazzo floors

I’m surrounded by the infamous courthouse wall

A place raised to perfectly sit as tales were told tall

There were discussions of court cases happening inside

While whittling on their sticks and crafting with pride

I have hosted some people with great fame

Lyndon Baines Johnson and John McCain

I held offices for locals so many still know

There are volumes of history in these hallowed halls

I represent Martin County’s rich Appalachian history

Hoping to keep it alive for our children I leave no mystery

Strong for the people as a cornerstone I stand

Abounding with the work of the lord on this piece of land.

Collier added that the poem will be on display in the courthouse.

Restoration efforts, supported by Appalachia Reach Out missionary groups, started in 2021 with removing partitions, refinishing floors, painting, and updating lighting and plumbing.

The project endured a setback with a fire in April 2023, leading to necessary upgrades.

“Fortunately, we still had insurance,” said Collier. “I hate that we had a fire, but it’s been such a blessing in the long run.”

The fire prompted a complete building rewiring, eliminating outdated wiring that once spanned 10 separate breaker boxes. Now, a single box controls all circuits, complemented by a new fire alarm system.

Collier shared that the contractor plans to seal the terrazzo floors.

“They said it would look so good,” she commented. “There was so much smoke damage. Thank goodness it did not get into the big courtroom, but it got on the wall right beside it.”

The fire cracked one of the windows outside the large courtroom on the second floor.

“They fixed it; you can’t even tell it,” said Collier.

Renovations continue, with new double-pane windows installed in the former finance office and final touches awaiting heating and cooling system updates.

The project is on track for a grand reopening in December after Christmas in the Mountains.

“We want everyone to come and see what’s been done and how beautiful it is,” said Collier.

The courthouse’s future functions include hosting a visitor center, a tourism director’s office, and a small store in the former sheriff’s offices. Former clerk’s office space will become a community commercial kitchen.

The first-floor small courtroom will become a dining room, rentable for $300.

Additional office spaces will be available for rent to help cover utility costs.

The big courtroom on the second floor is rentable for $500. A wedding package includes the big courtroom and bridal and groom suites for $1,200.

Martin County vocational school students constructed a platform for juror chairs, and Collier hopes to host mock trials.

Kiwanis member Candy Crum reminisced about a concert by James Cook in the large courtroom, marveling at its acoustics. “That was the neatest thing,” she said. “The sound was just fantastic.”

Another member, Pam Ward, recalled the social gatherings around the courthouse’s rock wall, where families gathered while young people socialized in town.