This is one of my kinda personal post. But mostly this post is about the numbers “1905” that used to be installed on the old Lawrence County courthouse.
For about 70 years, the hub of Lawrence County was its courthouse located on the Lawrenceburg Square. The materials used to build it ultimately led to its demise. Porous bricks, twisted rotted beams, and a leaky roof over the years put it in a very costly state beyond repair. That’s when they decided to relocate the new Courthouse to where it is today on West Gaines street/ old highway 64.
Several of those bricks from the old courthouse went to a farm owned by former mayor Ivan Johnson on Waterloo road and dumped where they still sit today in the middle of the woods. As a surveyor and when I discovered their story, I asked the current owner if I could retrieve some and was allowed to do so. I managed to get a few of the better ones.
The much cooler story comes with what happened to those numbers. When the courthouse was torn down in the early/mid 70’s, Gary (Frank) Murdock was allowed to get those numbers. He then presented those numbers to his dad because that was the year of his father’s birth.
Flash forward 45 years. Those numbers lay in a basement until Franks son Steve Murdock decided to do something beautiful and get them back to where they belong. In 2019, the Lawrence County Historical Society purchased the numbers from Steve and now will be permanently housed at the Old Jail Museum.
Now, the personal connection is that when I was a kid growing up in the 80’s, Frank was a local city policeman. If anyone knows me, they know I used to be a little mischievous. Frank was one of those kind of father figures who kept tabs on me as he patrolled Meadowview apartments. When I did something wrong, he would tell me how disappointed he was and as a kid that impacted me more than it would have if he scolded me. Other times he would praise me. My memories of this nice policeman left a lasting impact. And when I became friends with his son on Facebook I became aware of this story and just had to make note of it. I also wanted to thank Frank for being so nice to me as a kid and thank Steve for saving these memories.
Steve singing in 2020 with his dad Frank in 1990. “I’ve Been Around Enough To Know” originally recorded by John Schneider
