The Hillsdale County Courthouse under renovation on November 10, 2022. Logan Washburn | Collegian

Renovations to the Hillsdale County Courthouse that started last summer may not be completed by the planned deadline of fall 2023, according to County Commissioner Doug Ingles.

“It all depends on the weather,” said project manager Jake Verhagen of Renaissance Historic Exteriors. “Our plan right now is to try to get done by this fall but if we have 20 to 30 days of rain in the summer, or if the spring weather doesn’t break, that could set us back a little bit.”

Hillsdale County hired Illinois-based company Renaissance Historic Exteriors to restore the courthouse. According to Ingles, the project may not reach completion on time due to supply chain issues.

“Scaffolding has been going up since late summer,” Ingles said.

The construction crew will work on the clock and bell tower, and replace bricks where necessary, according to Ingles.

“It’s a 125-year-old building,” he said. “Maintenance has not been ongoing through the years. The roof leaks.”

The county is funding the project from two sources.

“We’re using money from our capital improvement fund and American Rescue Plan money,” Ingles said.

Verhagen said the building needs many types of work.

“There’s a bunch of duction repair and stone replacements that we need to do,” Verhagen said. “All the metal elements, gutters, cornice, metal and all that stuff, along with the metal on the tower, is getting removed and reinstalled.”

Workers are also relaying the clay tiling on the roof, he said.

The State Historic Preservation Office approved the courthouse restoration as long as the building’s integrity and historical significance would not be compromised, Ingles said, noting that this meant the county chose its construction company carefully.

The county found Renaissance Historic Exteriors the only company capable of properly restoring the courthouse. It specializes in historic buildings, with an emphasis on roofing and metalwork, according to its website. The company has won multiple awards.

“Anything to do with an old building, we do it,” Verhagen said.

The company has previously worked on multiple courthouses, churches, residences, and the Wyoming state capitol, according to its website.

Despite the damage to the courthouse, Ingles said it is an important piece of local and state history and on the National Register of Historic Places. The courthouse entered the NRHP in 1982, according to court documents.

Locals have mixed opinions of the courthouse project.

“Big pictures of Hillsdale commonly feature the courthouse. It’s been the center of the town and indeed the county,” Andrew Gelzer, manager of Gelzer’s Hardware, said. “Disruption to business has come from parking issues related to the project.”

Amy Kass, manager of The Blossom Shop of Hillsdale, said she has reservations about the project.

“I don’t believe it’s an important building. What goes on inside, yes, but not the building itself,” Kass said. “We didn’t know exactly what parts they were restoring. I can see keeping it maintained, but spending extra money because they think that it’s an important landmark or something important that was here for years and years and years, no.”

At the same time, Kass said she has not noticed disruption downtown.

According to Ingles, repairing the courthouse is a responsibility of the county as well as a necessity.

“We have to be good stewards as commissioners,” Ingles said.