MURPHY HEIRS WOULD NOT PROFIT BY REMOVAL OF THE COURT HOUSE |
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MURPHY HEIRS WOULD NOT PROFIT BY REMOVAL OF THE COURT HOUSE |
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Since the court house removal question was first mentioned a few weeks ago a great amount of discussion has been indulged in. Various reasons emenating from Farmington have been advanced as to why the court house could not be moved. Chief among these alleged reasons is the myth that the county would be put to enormous expense because of the manner in which the property on which the court house is now located came into possession of the county. It has been argued that the property which originally contained 52 acres was deeded to the county by the late David Murphy with a reversion clause stating that in the event the property ever ceased to be used for court house purposes it would revert back to the Murphy heirs. The records now on file in the Recorder's office prove this is not true.
It is true that the original deed did contain a reversion clause, but two years later, owing to dissatisfaction which had been expressed, Mr. Murphy made an absolute quit claim deed, without any restrictions whatever and turned the property over to the county. His heirs are expressly bound by this later deed.
Farmingtonians have argued that owing to this alleged reversion clause the county would have to make good the title to all of the property in the business section of Farmington which had been a part of this original 52 acres. There is nothing to this argument and the county would not be out one cent as the result of the sale of any part of the original grant.
The question of bringing the court house removal to a vote has not been started on account of any ill feeling on the part of the people of the Lead Belt toward Farmington, but from a sincere desire to keep in step with the march of progress. It is unfortunate, of course, that Farmington is handicapped by its isolated location so far as railway and other facilities which every county seat town ought to have. But this ought not to be allowed to stand in the way of the greatest good to the greatest number. Farmington, in the early days, frowned on the proposition of the Iron Mountain to invade its sacred precincts and thus afford modern communication with the rest of the country, and now that a short electric line, tieing the county seat to the outside world has been established, which under normal conditions, does not not yield much more than enough revenue to pay the train crews, complains bitterly through its newspapers on account of the service of a railroad which, during its brief existence, has twice been sold under the hammer.
There was a time when the old building, which is now serving as a court house, did very well, but that time has long since passed. St. Francois county is now one of the most important in the state, both from the standpoint of population and business. As a result there is an urgent demand for a new and modern court house.
It is going to be a big job, but the men back of it are big enough to swing the deal. They are at present busy working out the details of the campaign, the full details of which will be announced in the very near future.
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