I read with interest your article in the Hoptown Chronicle concerning the decision to demolish the Webber Building. During my many years as county attorney, I was told on numerous occasions that the Webber Building housed the first known law office in Hopkinsville. The county later obtained ownership of the property to gain much needed space for the county treasurer and the county judge-executive.
These offices were originally housed in the historic courthouse across the street and facing Main Street. However, the County Clerk’s Office located in the historic courthouse desperately needed more space. Since the secure vault that houses all real estate records was located in the historic courthouse, it made sense to give the space previously utilized by the county judge and treasurer to the county clerk and move their offices across the street to the historic buildings, including the Weber Building.
It later became obvious that the administrative offices of county government needed more space as well. Eventually the building located near the bridge on West Seventh Street, already owned by the county, would be an excellent candidate for rehabilitation/remodeling for the county judge-executive and related administrative offices.
After the move, there was no specific need to continue using the Webber building by county government given its relatively small space and questionable structural integrity. I do know, from personal experience, that the floors in the Webber Building were uneven and the building was expensive to maintain. Despite the efforts of county government over the years to maintain the building in a reasonable state of repair, it was obvious that the building had a very limited life span.
Therefore, I was not surprised about the contents of the inspection from the code enforcement officer. When I first heard of the plans to demolish the building, I was concerned about losing another historical building in our downtown area. However, I have to admit that the building was no longer safe for use by either county officials or the general public.
During my 50 years as county attorney, I spent a lot of time in those buildings meeting with magistrates, the treasurer, county judges and other county officials. It was handy, in the right location, and served a great purpose for many years because of the early commitment of county government to utilize and maintain historic buildings as long as possible. Given all of the forgoing, I must commend Judge-Executive Jerry Gilliam and Christian Fiscal Court for making a tough decision which was also the right decision.
J. Michael Foster
(Foster retired as Christian County attorney in 2018, following more than 30 years in the elected office. His son, Lincoln Foster, elected in 2022, now serves as county attorney.)
