Courthouse preservation fight not over
Courthouse preservation fight not over
By MICHAEL Johnson
BHG News Service
A group of about 15 interested citizens came together Monday night in an effort to save the McLean County Courthouse from destruction. While there were some negative feelings towards a new courthouse, the group resolved to focus their efforts on keeping the old courthouse a towering piece of history in Washburn.
Among those speaking on behalf of the courthouse preservation were Gerald (Stork) Nordquist and Betty Tweeten Peterson, both of Washburn. The group wasted no time in introducing a featured speaker from Bismarck who found the project to be well worth pursuing. David Nelson of Leaf Design Studio of Bismarck spoke about the importance of preserving the building as a way to help Washburn save its history.
While Nelson is an architect he said his involvement with the effort was only in support of preservation. Nelson said the preservation of the courthouse goes beyond McLean County. He called it a state and national issue of a lack of interest in preserving our historical places. Looking around the room Monday night, the representation was clearly from the older generations.
