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certainly there before the courthouse was burned in 1858 but they were not an original part
of the building.15 Their construction was authorized in 1830 by an Act of Assembly which
appointed a special commission with power to levy up to $2,000 for this purpose.16
It was specified in the act that the two wings would be built adjoining the courthouse.
This was a recognized hazard for the records, but safeguards were taken when it was also
ordered that the wings be fireproof. In any case, when the courthouse burned on the night
of February 19, 1858, the older central building was totally destroyed while the two wings
containing so many valuable records of the county were saved. A vivid account of the fire
was published in the Baltimore Sun the next Monday, February 22, part of which is here
reproduced:
We learn that on Saturday morning, a fire broke out in the county court house
located at Belair, which consumed the main building. The fire caught from a stove in
the county commissioners' office, in the second story, and occupied by H. D. Gough,
Esq., clerk to that body. When first discovered, at 4 1/2 o'clock, the flames were burst-
ing through the windows, and the inhabitants of the village and surrounding country
were aroused by the startling cry of "Fire" to collect around the doomed structure
without being able to give battle to the flames, there being no fire apparatus of any
kind in the village. The flames, thus uncontrolled, burned furiously for an hour and
a half. Fortunately, a severe snow-storm prevailed at that time, and the snow upon
the roofs of the nearest dwellings prevented the flames from spreading beyond the
court-house. But for this circumstance a good portion of the village must have been
laid in ashes, as the wind was blowing heavily from the north-east. The Methodist
Protestant Church in the rear, a dwelling on the left, and law offices on the right, were
in considerable danger, but escaped. At 6 o'clock the main buildings were in ruins,
but the two wings, occupied by the register of wills, Benedict H. Hanson, and clerk of
the court, William Galloway, were uninjured.
They are low one story offices, built of brick, covered with slate, and protected by
iron fire-proof doors and shutters. To these the county is indebted for the preservation
of valuable records, the destruction of which would have caused an incalculable amount
of confusion in county affairs. The main building, which fell a prey to the flames, was
also of brick, two stories high, and contained on the first floor the court room, clerk's
office, petit and grand jury rooms, and on the second floor the county commissioners'
office and an apartment used by the societies of the county and for the holding of
the village balls, etc.
All the books of the commissioners' office were destroyed. They related to the
public business of the county, such as roads, taxes on property, etc., and cannot be
replaced, it is thought, without a reassessment.
The court-house was erected about the year 1820 [1791], but the register's and
clerk's offices, adjacent, were not built until 1827. The edifice was 60 feet long by 40
wide, and stood near the centre of the village, surrounded by a court-yard. As
the regular sitting of the court takes place in May, the county will be without accom-
modations at Belair. The loss is supposed to be between $3,000 and $4,000, upon which
we learn there is no insurance.
Second Courthouse at Bel Air
Fortunately, the General Assembly was in session when the fire occurred so that it was
only a matter of days before a bill had been introduced and passed authorizing the construction
of a new courthouse.17 A bond issue of $20,000 was to be sold by the special commissioners
named in the act, and as Preston has noted, the courthouse was completed for this amount—
an occurrence almost unique in the history of Maryland public buildings. Moreover, it was
ready for occupancy in 1859. While construction was going on, the courts met in the building
of the Masonic Order and Union Church which occupied a part of the original courthouse lot.
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15 Nor did the lot remain the same, for in 1827, a consider-
able part of the original two and five-eighths acres was sold
to the Masons for the erection of a meeting hall (Ch. 36, Acts
of 1826 ; Harford County Land Records, H. D. No. 11, f. 77.
Microfilm copy, Hall of Records) .
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16 Ch. 133, Acts of 1829.
17 Ch. 91. Acts of 1858.
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