Cabell County Courthouse repair progress highlighted

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) - The clock tower at the Cabell County Courthouse has been covered with scaffolding for the last year.

Chad Nelson, planning administrator for the Cabell County Commission, says the copper flashing and the quarter domes that surround the clock tower were coming loose and separating from the stonework, caused by rotted wood.

“The masonry had pulled away that the wood was supporting and basically it created gaps all around the top and the sides of the clock tower where water was able to enter the building,” Nelson said.

Repairs to the clock tower are already underway and expected to be completed in the next couple of months, with a target date of bringing the scaffolding down by the new year.

“(Crews) are cleaning stonework, they are patching and repointing, building new supports for the quarter domes and the quarter domes are being refashioned or being remade,” Nelson said.

The overall goal with the project is preservation.

“If it was left unaddressed, we would have serious problems with the interior of the dome ... our entire goal is to make sure this building is watertight and make sure this building goes on for at least another 100 years,” Nelson said.

Nelson said the repairs to the building cost around $780,000, and the scaffolding cost nearly $200,000, bringing the total price tag for the project to nearly $1 million.

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