Article published November 05, 1958

Courthouse Battles Demolition

By ROLLO TAYLOR, Journal Staff Writer

Like the stern victorians who built her, Spartanburg County's old Courthouse proved to be a tough old bird at 5 a.m. today and half-won a battle to remain standing. Workers from Chitwood House Moving Company attempted to jerk down the belfry section from the Courthouse tower an hour before dawn. But when the brick dust had settled, four concrete columns were still up there, as strong as ever.

E.W. Clarkson, supervisor of the destruction job, explained the failure to bring the entire belfry down with one short sentence: "She's tougher than I thought."

The remaining four columns finally crashed down about 9:20 this morning after workers "waited for the traffic to die down."

He said another attempt would be made later today, "after traffic slows down a little."

The major effort to jerk down the 20-foot high belfry started as a near-secret project Tuesday afternoon. Mr. Clarkson said he wanted to keep the area clear of spectators and made no announcement concernng the attempt.

The original plans called for four one-inch steel cables attached to four of the concrete columns which supported the top section of the tower.

In theory, the entire top was supposed to fall when these supports were pulled out. As a bulldozer jerked and tugged, the columns popped out one at a time - but that's all.