On page 462 of William Willis Boddie's History of Williamsburg, he states, "In 1883, the second story of the County Court House was burned." I've always thought it odd that no month or day was given, just the year 1883. It would seem that an event as momentous as a fire in the county courthouse would be remembered down to the hour of its occurrence.
The Williamsburg County Courthouse after it was rebuilt.
Several weeks ago, I spent the better part of a morning trying to find newspaper accounts of the fire. I found nothing, leaving me to suspect that the fire didn't occur in 1883.
Last week, while searching for something else entirely, I ran across this article in the February 27, 1889, issue of the Yorkville Enquirer, York, South Carolina: The Courthouse at Kingstree was burned by an accidental fire about noon last Friday. The courthouse was situated in the business portion of the town, and for some time it looked as though the Coleman House and several stores near would also be lost, but by hard work, the fire was confined to the one building, the destruction of which is complete. The county records were all saved.
Okay, so I now had a date, but this article differed from Boddie's description significantly. Boddie wrote, "When the fire was discovered, the county officials who had their records in their offices on the ground floor very quickly removed their books and papers from these offices. The second story was burning for three days, during which time the officials learned that their offices were fire proof and began using them before the embers above had ceased to burn." So the newspaper article said the building was completely destroyed, but Boddie was positive the ground floor was unharmed.
A wide-angle view of the Williamsburg County Courthouse as it looks today.
A search for other accounts in 1889 turned up a number of stories. The most complete was in the February 27, 1889, issue of The Manning Times.
From that I learned that about 11 a.m. on Friday, February 22, someone noticed flames on the roof of the courthouse. According to The Times, "As soon as it was known that the building was burning, several men endeavored to enter the courtroom, but owing to the dense smoke, they were unable to remain there. Everybody then turned their attention to the offices in the lower part of the building, and everything of value was removed to a place of safety."
The Times then verifies Boddie's assertion that the lower floor was not destroyed in the fire by stating, "The work of cleaning the offices was altogether useless as the whole lower portion of the building remains intact; but, of course, this could not be foreseen." Whether or not officials went about conducting business in their offices while the fire still burned is not verified, but it seems that it might be unlikely as the story goes on to say, "The county records are very much mixed up, and the officials will be occupied many days in getting them properly arranged."
Toucha Gray performs in front of the Courthouse during The King's Table.
This article notes that had it not been for an incessant rain which fell the day before and for the wind which blew the fire directly away from neighboring buildings, "the whole business portion of the town would, in all probability, have been destroyed."
The Times states officials were speculating that as the courtroom was locked and the roof was made of tin, the fire had likely started as a result of sparks escaping through cracks in one of the chimneys. The cracks were caused by the 1886 earthquake which destroyed large portions of Charleston and was also felt in Kingstree. The article notes, "Several breaks had been made in the chimneys by the earthquake and had not been repaired."
The fire does seem to have burned for at least two days. The News & Courier article the day after the fire reported, "There was a lively time securing the records, furniture, etc. from the lower part in which the county offices are located. The fire is still burning."
The county had no insurance on the building, and the loss was estimated between $6,000 and $10,000.
The Williamsburg County Courthouse decorated for the holidays.
Apparently there were those who wanted the courthouse to be relocated rather than rebuilt. In a letter to the editor of The Manning Times, printed in March 1889, a Greeleyville resident who signed himself J.M.B. stated, "The United States wants to annex Canada. Canada wants to annex the New England states, and to cap the climax, somebody wants to build a courthouse at Lake City because the top of the one at Kingstree has been destroyed by fire..." I don't know if there was any serious discussion of this, but I'm sure there were rumors.
In addition to rebuilding and putting the offices on the ground floor back in order, there was the matter of where court would be held. The next term was called to order in the Knights of Honor Hall, although I don't know where that was located.
According to The Manning Times, the Williamsburg County Commissioners met in April to consider repairs to the courthouse. John K. Gourdin, architect and civil engineer, and State Representatives Edwin Harper and John A. Kelley were also present at the meeting. The Times reported, "Mr. Gourdin made estimates of the costs of repairing the building with brick, so as to replace it as it was before the fire, and the cost to rebuild the upper story with wood. His estimate was brick was $5,000 and with wood $4,000. The Commissioners have decided to rebuild the courthouse with brick as it originally stood, and have advertised for proposals to do the work."
By August, the work had begun. I have not found any indication of when it was completed, but it seems that court was once again being held in the regular courtroom by early 1890.
So, on Saturday, as we mark the 131st anniversary of the day the courthouse burned, let's be thankful that we still have a beautiful building that continues to play a major role in defining the Town of Kingstree and Williamsburg County.
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