Deteriorated belfry comes floating down to Main Street in Brookville

By John Estrdige (article and photos)

At 12:22 p.m., Wednesday, November 4, the historic belfry started its descent from on top of the Franklin County Courthouse and in less than a minute it was set gently down on Main Street just south of the courthouse.

Earlier this year a passerby noticed the belfry was leaning and went inside the courthouse and told an official about it.

County officials went out onto the sidewalk, looked up and found the passerby knew what he was talking about.

Thus, county officials have been planning for several months to take the belfry down and then replace it. First, they had to get money in place, which meant keeping the old bond in place after the bond used to remodel the Old Brookville High School into the Government Center was paid off. County Commissioners and County Council are using just more than a quarter of a million dollars of the $1.1. million bond for the belfry situation.

And it is seemingly by the grace of God, the belfry remained on top of the courthouse until Lykins Contracting employees took it down Wednesday. Lykins employees told Commission President Tom Linkel there was actually nothing holding the belfry up. Later, after the belfry was on the pavement, one Lykins employee said it should have come down during the Sunday, Nov. 1 windstorm. And had the area been hit by a decent, wet snow that would have probably brought it down.

Lykins used two cranes parked side by side on Main Street in front of the courthouse. Main Street, U.S. 52, was shut down between Fourth and Fifth streets. Northbound traffic was sent east on Fourth Street to Mill Street and then out of town that way. Southbound traffic was sent east on Fifth Street and then out of town in the opposite direction on Mill Street. There was one mishap on Mill Street by lunch when a box truck took down an ETC line.

The west side of Court Street was also shut down. But it was open for Pioneer customers and parking on the east side of the street.

Franklin County Highway employees were used for traffic control.

Back at the courthouse, three Lykins employees in a box-like cage were lifted up to the belfry by one of the cranes. Another employee had gone up to the belfry through the courthouse, which was closed to employees and the public for the day.

They attempted to put 2x6s as bracing around the interior bottom of the belfry. However, they found the wood beneath the aluminum exterior of the supports was rotten.

That sent the employees back down to decide on a Plan B.

They went back up and attached heavy straps carried by the second crane, wrapping them around the supports. They then used a chainsaw and a saw saw to cut through the supports all the way around the belfry.

At that point, the crane lifted the belfry off its perch and brought it gently down to Main Street.

Once on Main, the historic belfry surprised many in the crowd watching with how big it was. It was about 20 feet tall or taller and the crane operator said it weighed about 3,000 pounds.

From the ground, many people said the belfry, while on top of the courthouse, looked like it was twisted. A Lykins employee, who had been up and close to the belfry when it was still at the top of the courthouse, said it was attached to the courthouse with threaded metal posts like rebar. Those had allowed the belfry to be twisted when the rotten wood eroded around and beneath them.

Linkel said he was told by the Lykins employees when they touched the sides of the belfry, it moved with the touch.

After it was on the ground, Lykins employees cut up the belfry so it would fit on a trailer and not be too tall to pass under lines. It was then strapped down and taken to the county transfer station on Landfill Road off U.S. 52 West.

What can be salvaged will be recycled and the rest destroyed.

Lykins employees said while there were numerous bats in the courthouse when they came to bid the job, the bats were all gone on Wednesday. It is thought they may have migrated somewhere else or had moved within the courthouse to a different location to hibernate.

A new belfry is being designed and constructed by Campbellsville Industries Inc. It was the only company with a quote for that part of the complex job. Its bid is for $64,878. It will be designed in about six to eight weeks and then it will take another four months to be fabricated and placed upon the courthouse. It is aluminum. Commissioners are hoping it can be completed and on the courthouse by May or June 2021 if not before.

Lykins is also putting a rubber roof over the area, which had been below the belfry. Lykins’ bid for its entire portion of the project is $126,300.

Later, I plan to publish a courthouse history by Brookville historian John Newman.