When Nate visited the Montgomery County courthouse, he was underwhelmed by the courthouse but very impressed with the “painstakingly restored” buildings in Mount Sterling. I couldn’t agree more. The historical preservation and adaptive reuse in this community.
One building, with markings of “Engine House,” “City Court,” and “Library” now has a banner in front noting the new home of the Montgomery County Historical Museum. The old city jail, “The Bell House,” was constructed in 1815 and restored around 1990 by the local historical society.
Mount Sterling was a regular scene of Civil War activity. Possession of the city changed a dozen times during the War; the courthouse was burned by Confederate forces in December of 1863; the Battle of Mount Sterling (March 22, 1863) resulted in only 12 deaths, but resulted in the capture of 438 prisoners and significant Union supplies; and in June 1864, Gen. Morgan and his horsemen took the vault key from the cashier of Farmer’s Bank and left town with over $60,000.
One of Morgan’s men (Lt. Witherspoon) was tried in a civil action in 1866, but the judgment against Witherspoon was reversed on appeal because robbery was not unlawful under the laws of war.