Carter County staff moves next week to new courthouse

VAN BUREN, Mo. — Officials who once occupied the historic Carter County Courthouse — a cobbled-rock building dating back to 1871 — have been displaced since the historic flooding of the Current River in April 2017.

Next week, they will leave the temporary quarters they have called home in the years since for a newly constructed courthouse at 1122 Main St. in Van Buren.

According to Debi Reynolds, Carter County clerk, county workers have not been able to go back into the building since the flood.

After being housed in different locations, county employees settled into the Old Main Street Market building, where they currently operate. But that is all about to change as a new courthouse is set to open.

The location is massive and will house everything, Reynolds shared.

According to Reynolds, upstairs will be the sheriff's office, jail cells, all of the court offices and the courtroom, while downstairs will be the clerk, assessor, collector and treasurer. The new facility will house everyone from the prosecuting attorney to all county offices, plus the brand new jail.

The flooding that displaced workers and caused county offices to relocate brought great ruin to the building and the town of Van Buren. However, because of terms with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which paid the county $8.6 million to help construct the new courthouse on higher ground, those offices will never move back into the aged building. The money from FEMA specified it could not be used to restore the previous courthouse.

The Friends of the Carter County Courthouse, determined to keep the town's history alive, have been successful in pursuing a grant opportunity that would restore the historic building. Online comments from the group stated they are looking forward to the continuation of the courthouse's legacy.

The Missouri Department of Economic Development recently released a list of grant recipients, and $630,454 has been allocated to the Carter County Welcome Center project. This project will renovate and utilize the historic courthouse building as a welcome center for the area, the DED reported.

Reynolds said county officials had hoped to be moved into the new location and open by Friday, but felt May 1 was a more realistic assessment, as the transition will undoubtedly take some time.