While the sheer scope and massive scaffolding associated with the ongoing clock tower refurbishment at the Nodaway County Courthouse has attracted most onlookers' attention this summer, a smaller and infinitely more delicate repair job is now underway at the east and west entrances to the historic brick structure.
A crew from Fort Scott, Kan.-based Mid-Continental Restoration arrived in Maryville this week to begin the painstaking chore of partially restoring ornate sandstone columns and other stonework decorating the building's two Italianate porticos.
Since the courthouse was completed in 1882, the columns and associated masonry had gradually decayed to the point where large chunks were missing in several places.
Some of the stone was so rotten it could be crumbled away with a fingernail, and several of the Corinthian-style column capitals have eroded to the point where only traces of the original ornamentation remains.
In addition, the plaster ceilings beneath the roofs of both porticoes are badly weathered and in need of repair and painting...
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