GREENE COUNTY'S ORIGINAL LOG COURTHOUSE
History of Log Courthouse ~~ The
Historical Society took on the project of purchasing the 1796
log structure, with the intent to restore the site to its
original state with an addition in the back for community
use. Work on the site progressed under the direction of David
Lesako, the old addition was torn down and with a donation of
supplies from Cyprus Amax, the structure was stabilized. An
archaeological excavation project under the supervision of
Jean Zimmerman and James (Fuzzy) Randolph, found many
interesting artifacts, now on display at the museum. This
excavation also led to a written report which should help
with the site's
interpretation.
Due to a lack of financial and volunteer support the
project was at a standstill until the Greene County Commissioners
generously offered to complete the purchase and restoration of the
site. The county still intends to upkeep the original plans and
restore the structure with an addition that will be the new home
office for the Greene County Cornerstone
Genealogical Society.
Greene
County's original log courthouse was restored and
re-dedicated on Sunday, October 20, 2002. Smoke wafted from the
chimney, just as it did on brisk fall mornings 205 years ago when
justice was dispensed from the two-story log building on Greene
Street in Waynesburg, Pennslvania. In a sense, Thursday's ceremony
rededicating Greene County's first courthouse was about justice,
too.
The privations weren't nearly those suffered by the settlers, but a
few dozen people braved the chill and rain to admire the
restoration of a two-story cabin hastily built in 1797 to serve the
governmental needs of a county being hacked out of the
wilderness.
The Greene County
Cornerstone Genealogical Society played a major role
in the preservation and restoration of the log
courthouse