The Berrien County Historic Courthouse Square, also known as the History Center at Courthouse Square, is the oldest town square in the Midwest and is a historic district located in Berrien Springs, Michigan. The complex is 1.6 acres and is home to five structures, two of which are the oldest of their kind in the state of Michigan, and include the 1839 Courthouse, Michigan's oldest Courthouse, and the 1829 Murdoch Cabin, Michigan's oldest two-story cabin. The property and its buildings are owned by Berrien County and stewarded by the Berrien County Historical Association. While the historic 1839 Courthouse was added to the United States' Department of the Interior National Register of Historic Places in 1970, the BCHA resubmitted the application to include the entire courthouse square during the 1970s. The application was approved and the entire complex was added to the national register in 1982.
History Berrien County was officially established in 1829, but was organized in 1831. County offices were hotly debated between Niles on one extreme of the county and St. Joseph on the other extreme of the county, before Berrien Springs was chosen in 1837 for its central location in the county making it easily accessible to all. That same year, the county accepted the donation of property along Union Street and commissioned the construction of the first permanent, county building - a two-story wooden jail in 1837 which was operational in 1838. After requesting bids in 1838, the county commissioners chose Gilbert B. Avery to construct the County Courthouse. Completed in 1839, it was operational in April 1839 and the building served as both a site of government and as a community center for Berrien Springs and Berrien County residents.
Over the next several decades, the county's growth impacted its operations, and the Commissioners were faced with the need for additional space. In 1860, the county once again turned to Gilbert Avery who designed the Records Building. Built by George Murdock, the one-story building was quickly outgrown and a two-story addition was added in 1973. The county records were housed here along with the Registrar and the Probate Judge offices. With this addition, the complex stretched from Union Street to Madison Street along North Cass Street, in Berrien Springs.
Two more building was constructed by the County on this town square site - the 1870 Sheriff's Office and the second County Jail. As before, Avery was hired to design the building, although he ended up overseeing the construction after issues with the builder. The buildings were completed at the end of 1869, with the sheriff and his family moving into the building in January 1870. Once the prisoners being held at the old jail were moved to the new one, that former jail was converted into an outbuilding. With a small road passing through the property, visitors to the complex had easy access to each building on foot or by buggy.
Fight for the County Seat Despite Berrien Springs being located in the middle of the county and easily accessible to all county residents, property investors in St Joseph made a concerted effort to move the county seat to St Joseph to prosper their own city and pockets. By 1894, a vote was held to determine if the county seat should be moved or not. The weeks leading up to election day were contentious as Berrien Springs, St. Joseph, and Niles vied for the county seat, with newspapers being a spirited part of the process. After Benton Harbor threw its votes behind its sister city, St. Joseph won the election with less than 20 votes. The loss was a bitter one for Berrien Springs and The Berrien Springs Era didn't hold back as the county began its move, "The motive power used in the removal was mostly furnished by horses, but the direction of affairs was left to the jackasses, of which St. Joe has an abundance." For their part, St. Joseph were passive-aggressive in their victory, tipping their hats to their neighbors after a contentious battle.
In 1895, the county began construction on a new courthouse in St Joseph, but while some operations immediately moved to St. Joseph, some remained in Berrien Springs for at least another year. This included the Sheriff, whose new residence and jail were completed in the early fall of 1895. The second courthouse in St Joseph had to be demolished in the 1960's due to significant structural issues.
A New Era Despite no longer needing the complex in Berrien Springs, the county was hesitant to sell at first. Residents of Berrien Springs continued to use the Courthouse for meetings, weddings, community events, and even established a dance hall and armory. In 1900, Battle Creek College, a Seventh-day Adventist school, made the decision to move to a new location, opting for Berrien Springs. While their new campus was being constructed, the college, which had renamed itself Emmanuel Missionary College (now Andrews University) approached the county, seeking to rent the old complex buildings. The county agreed and the 1901–1902 school year was held, with administrative offices in the Records building, classes in the Sheriff's Residence and Courthouse, and the courtroom itself serving as the college chapel which was open to the community. After the college moved to its new campus, the buildings were once again used by the community, Emmanuel Missionary College, and the ever growing Seventh-day Adventist community who initially moved to Berrien Springs to attend the college but permanently settled there upon completion of their schooling.
By the 1910s, the county split the complex apart and sold the Records Building and the Sheriff's Office which were converted into apartments. The jail was torn down in 1916 as it was no longer needed. This left the courthouse and town square remaining under county ownership. The Seventh-day Adventist community had grown considerably, and they approached the county to rent the Courthouse as a church after the departure of Emmanuel Missionary College (now Andrews University) to their new campus. The agreement would remain in place until 1922, when the church elders of the "Village Church" opted to purchase the building. After purchasing land to the west of the courthouse, the church built an auxiliary building to host meetings and to house the Village Seventh-day Adventist school. By the 1950s, a second building at the corner of North Cass Street and Madison Street was constructed, serving as a doctor's office.
Preservation and Additions In 1965, the SDA Village Church realized their congregation had outgrown the Courthouse space and built a new church building less than a mile from the Courthouse. The church officially moved into the new building in 1966 and two of the three buildings it owned on the courthouse square continued as the Village Seventh-day Adventist School. The sheriff's Residence remained under private ownership, having been converted into apartments, while the Old Records' Building had been turned into a mixed-use residential and commercial building.
In 1968, the Berrien County Historical Commission and Berrien County combined their efforts to purchase the portion of the complex owned by the SDA church, with the goal of restoring the Courthouse. For the next eight years, the BCHC raised the funds needed to complete the restoration of the Courthouse and completed it in 1975. It is still an active Berrien County courthouse, and used for weddings, special ceremonies, and educational purposes as outlined in MCL - Section 600.1515 of the Michigan Revised Judicature Act of 1961 - Act 236. It specifically depicts an historic 1880's courtroom. Berrien County Clerk's office retains copies of historic court trial proceedings from 1839 to the present.
As the commission decided to rebrand in 1975, they also began to focus on securing the remaining two buildings - the Records Building and Sheriff's Residence. By the late 1970s, the Sheriff's Residence had been purchased, and the Records building was reunited with the Courthouse square in the 1990s, although the building wouldn't be available for restoration until 2000.
In 1968, the 1829 Murdoch Log Cabin was uncovered under modern siding during a demolition of a home on nearby Kephart Road, Berrien Springs. Extensive research by local historians, aided by Western Michigan University, established the cabin as the original 1829 home of Berrien Springs co-founder Francis Murdoch, who is regarded as one of the most important Human Rights attorneys in United States history for his prolific defense of those escaping slavery. In 1973, the BCHC agreed to have the building moved to the Courthouse property and it was placed just behind the courthouse. Two years later, the BCHC rebranded and became the Berrien County Historical Association to better reflect the growth of its mission and properties.
As the BCHC was looking towards other projects, the auxiliary building and doctor's office had been earmarked for demolition. However, in 1977, the family of local resident and history lover, George Bennett, approached the organization with a substantial donation in their father's name. It was decided that the best way to honor George Bennett was to turn the auxiliary building into an exhibit space. The auxiliary building was converted into "Bennett's Forge and Buggy Shop," depicting a fully functional 1800s blacksmith's forge, and was opened to the public in 1978. The doctor's office was torn down in the 1980s.
The Sheriff's Residence was finally available for renovation in the early 1980s and all phases were completed by 1985. The upper levels were set aside as workspace for staff, while the lower level included space for permanent and temporary exhibits depicting life in the 1880s. The addition on the back of the house was converted into vaults for the BCHA's growing collections. By 1995, the Jail Plaza, designed to mimic the floor and walls of the old jail, was completed.
Although the county and the BCHA had owned the Records Building since the 1990s, it wasn't until the 2000s before the last of the tenants vacated the property. Plans for the building had been around since the early 1990s, but was hampered by funding constraints. In 2007, the Records building caught fire, but was restored using insurance funds. After repairs to sure up the structure had been made, disheartened, both the County and the BCHA shifted their priorities to other projects. The building remains closed to the public and there is currently renewed interest in turning this building into an immersive archaeological museum depicting the 12,000-year archaeological record of Berrien County that showcases the BCHA's substantial collection of artifacts from the Paleoindian, Archaic, Woodland, and Potawatomi periods.
The Future