Video: Saline Courthouse springhouse restoration nearly finished

Saline Preservation Association President Lisa Melchior speaks with Clyde Miller of Renovations by Helms about the final work being done to the springhouse at the Saline National Park near Rose, Okla. (Photo by Will Chavez)

By Will Chavez
Staff Writer

ROSE, Okla. – Only minor work is left before the springhouse located on the Saline Courthouse property is done.

President of the Saline Preservation Association Lisa Melchior said some exterior work around the springhouse should be completed soon, but the interior and exterior of the springhouse itself is complete.

New cedar shingles were placed on the refurbished roof, which had been caving in, and the building’s foundation, which was being eroded by the spring flowing underneath the building, was replaced. 

Springs meander through the property in front of the courthouse. One spring rises from the ground under the springhouse. Melchior said the springhouse was used to cover the site’s main water source and was used as a storage area for perishable foods.

“They didn’t have electricity, so they didn’t have modern refrigerators, so the cool spring water coming out of the ground helped keep…their food cool,” she said.

Though the building had bars on the windows, she said no documentation has been found that shows the building was used for a jail while the courthouse was used.

Melchior said the springhouse project should be done by July. She said it’s expected that two channel walls and a low-water dam wall behind the springhouse would also be completed by then. 

Inclement weather and other delays prevented the springhouse project from being done in March as intended. One delay, Melchior said, was caused by having to revamp plans and perform more testing for the foundation.

“We have a dandy foundation underneath it now,” she said. 

While excavating the foundation, Melchior said, “interesting” pieces of chinaware, glass and pottery, as well as metal pieces were found.

In mid-June, work started on the courthouse to begin its restoration process as crews started removing lead paint from the building. Workers were also slated to begin building a fence in front of the property and around the small cemetery, which is part of phase two of the restoration project.

Six work phases are planned for the 14-acre historic site, which includes the 125-year-old Cherokee Nation district courthouse built in 1884 and the Teehee Cemetery.

Saline Courthouse is the last of the original nine CN district courthouses built in the 1800s. A court clerk and a sheriff staffed the courthouse, which was only used for misdemeanor crimes, Melchior said. A circuit judge traveled among the nine courthouses to hear cases.

The federal Dawes Commission, which was charged with enrolling Cherokee citizens and allotting land, declared all tribal court procedures be stopped in July 1898 and the courthouse was closed.

After it ceased being a courthouse it became a residence and was expanded, doubling in size. Melchior credits the building’s survival with the fact families lived in and maintained the structure over the years.

The CN did not regain ownership of the courthouse until 1988. The site’s official name is the Saline National Park. The Saline Preservation Association has been working with the CN since 2003 to preserve the courthouse property.