Historic MS Coast courthouse has dealt with leaks, mold and ‘large rats.’ Could it move?

The Hancock County Courthouse in Bay St. Louis has demanded so many repairs since it was built more than a century ago that leaders are now discussing whether the county could build a new facility in a different spot.

The courthouse on Main Street has dealt with rats, leaking windows and increasingly limited space, according to a public meeting this month. County administrator Jimmie Ladner said Tuesday that leaders have only begun to discuss the idea. But he said a new court facility is “a matter of when, not if.”

“To just continue to put money into a building that’s going to be very hard to make functional just doesn’t make sense,” he said.

The courthouse was built in 1911 and county leaders say it no longer meets all the demands of modern courts. The building holds circuit, county and chancery courts, the district attorney’s Hancock County office, the Election Commission and its voting equipment. It has one courtroom and one small magistrate room.

Circuit Court Clerk Kendra Necaise said at the meeting this month the historic building had “large rats” and wet floors due to leaks. County leaders said the leaks have led to some rot, and that they were growing more concerned about the building’s limited space. Board President Scotty Adam said moisture in the past had also led to problems with mold.

Adam said this week he believes the rat problem, among other issues, had been treated and that many of the problems were not new. Hurricane Katrina caused some flooding in the building and tore apart the courthouse’s roof, which has since been replaced. The courthouse has also had issues that date to at least the 1980s, according to the Hancock County Historical Society. A history of the courthouse published in 1981 says paint and plaster were falling from the walls, rain and winds were blowing through broken windows and that the courthouse was already losing space because of steadily growing files.

The Board of Supervisors has authorized the county engineer to start talking with court employees to understand their needs so the county can estimate how much relocating would cost. Once the cost is clear, “we’ll sit down and make some real hard decisions,” Ladner said.

“It’s just a discussion now,” Adam said. “We haven’t even discussed where the funding would come from.”

He said the historic courthouse would remain standing either way. It became a Mississippi landmark in 1983 and is in the Old Bay St. Louis Historic District.

Ladner said if the county decides to build at another location it would probably only be a new facility, not a whole courthouse, and possibly housed at the Hancock County Government Annex. He said a plan would probably become more clear in the next two months.

“We’re at the real, real early stages,” he said. “But we have to start.”

This story was originally published December 11, 2024 at 5:50 AM.