DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way out in Moore County, there's a courthouse square with a story that goes back to a single act of generosity. A man named Louis Dumas donated the land for that square, and in 1891 he laid out the very townsite around it.
One man, one decision, and suddenly you've got the bones of a county seat. Now, the county didn't waste much time after that. Just one year later, Moore County was formally organized as a government.
They had the land, they had the structure, and in 1893 they put up their first courthouse. Built it, used it, kept every county record they had inside it. That building served as the focal point for the community and for the entire county.
Not a bad run for a first effort. But first efforts, well, they have a way of giving way to something bigger. That original courthouse was eventually replaced.
The new structure went up courtesy of C. S. Lambie and Company, and it did not come cheap.
One hundred and fifty-five thousand dollars. A brick building, solid and serious, the kind of thing that says we're staying. And in the first week of August 1931, county officials moved in and got to work.
Both courthouses, the one that came first and the one that stands today, have held all the county records and served as that same focal point Dumas must have had in mind when he handed over the land back in 1891. Some donations just keep paying out.
What the marker says
Land for this courthouse square was donated by Louis Dumas, who laid out the townsite in 1891. One year later, Moore County was formally organized as a government, and in 1893 the county's first courthouse was built. The original courthouse was replaced by the current structure, built by C. S. Lambie and Company at a cost of $155,000. The brick building was occupied by county officials during the first week of August 1931. Both courthouses have held all county records and have served as focal points for the community and for the entire county. (1984)