By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The year the courthouse murals were painted remains a mystery – but their future is no longer in question thanks to the restoration of the massive paintings on the third floor of the Wood County Courthouse.
“We are really excited to have the renovation of our murals,” Wood County Commissioner Doris Herringshaw said to the crowd gathered for the rededication of the artwork.
“One of the responsibilities of the commissioners is to take care of the property of the county,” Herringshaw said.
With the 150-year-old courthouse, that has included repairs to the giant clock in the tower of the courthouse, restoration of the ornate stone carvings, and conversion of the century-old jail into a law library and records center, Commissioner Craig LaHote said.
“We want to keep this viable and functioning for Wood County citizens,” LaHote said.
Commissioner Ted Bowlus introduced three descendents in the audience of the murals’ artist, I.M. Taylor, a former mayor of Bowling Green.
Bowlus pointed out the significance of the Fort Meigs mural on the east wall, and oil derricks mural on the west wall. At its height in 1896, the oil boom in Wood County was supplying one-quarter of the nation’s oil from its 25,000 derricks.
“This is a significant treasure to Wood County,” said Wood County Common Pleas Court Judge Matt Reger, who gave a brief history lesson on the courthouse.
The rededication of the murals is the first of a series of events planned by Wood County officials to celebrate the county’s 200th year in 2020.
For more than a century, the murals on the top floor of the Wood County Courthouse have caused heads to tip back in admiration of the artwork.
The county commissioners want courthouse visitors for years to come to have that same experience. So they spent nearly $70,000 to restore the works of art.
The county commissioners paid $21,980 to lease scaffolding for the restoration project, and paid $47,390 to McKay Lodge Conservation Laboratory Inc., from Oberlin, to restore the murals.
The commissioners were told early in 2018 that the aging murals were at a critical point. A painting restoration expert said it’s now or never for the massive murals.
“You’re at the turning point,” Wood County Administrator Andrew Kalmar said the county was informed. “If we don’t do restoration now, they are going to start coming off the walls.”
A couple years ago, workers restoring plaster at the courthouse noticed some paint flaking on the murals. So the county contracted with ICA Art Conservation, a non-profit center in Cleveland for advice.
The expert noticed large areas where the paint was peeling, yet still precariously hanging onto the surface. There were traces of nicotine from the time when smoking was allowed in the building.
To fix the murals, an adhesive was applied under the surface using a hypodermic needle or brush. Then a special packing press was used to flatten the flaking paint back onto the surface. The areas where the paint was gone were filled in and repainted to match the original.
“It’s the role the commissioners have played over the decades,” Kalmar said. The county’s predecessors built this beautiful, ornate courthouse, he said, “And they have to take care of it.”
