GREENVILLE—The Lady Justice on the top of the Darke County Courthouse was removed for refurbishment on Thursday, Dec. 1 by Mid State Restoration, Inc: Historic and Commercial Restoration, of Cleveland.
The last time Lady Justice was removed and refurbished was in 1991. Mid States did the work then as well.
Darke County Commissioner Matt Aultman said the project did fall under the limit of having to bid, however Darke County Facility and Safety Manager Dale Musser did receive quotes and the funding will come out of the capital improvement account.
The capital improvement account covers larger long term investments in facilities and infrastructure adopted by the commissioners.
“The statue was in bad shape condition wise due to the weather reaching with the zinc and the previous protective coating was coming off,” Commissioner Aultman said. “The sword actually disintegrated when moving her. It is better to fix it now before some weather event comes through and she comes off the building.”
Mid States is a specialized company that does this work for many other counties, he added. They often do courthouse restorations and have the molds to restore parts of statues that have crumbled due to the weather. There is no local company that can do the work the statue needed.
Lady Justice will be refurbished and returned to the top of the courthouse next spring.
The Darke County Board of Commissioners hold regular session every Tuesday and Thursday at 1:30 p.m. at 520 South Broadway, Greenville, Ohio 45331. For more information contact the commissioner’s office at 937-547-7370.
