By the merry month of May, contractors say, the scaffolding surrounding the historic county courthouse on Wall Street in Uptown Kingston should be just an ugly memory.

“Thank God!” exclaimed a visiting lawyer. “It seemed to take forever!”

It was a big job. Launched only last Aug. 15 after the state accepted a low bid of $4 million from Milcon Construction of Babylon, L.I., the work included pointing up the thousands of bluestone masonry blocks that encompass the exterior of the building, repair of its 68 wooden windows, replacement of all its roofs and a new canopy on the parking lot entrance. Upwards of a dozen men worked on the building for most of the time.

Particular attention was paid to the cupola atop the building.

“It needed a lot of work,” said assistant project manager Jacob Blower of Milcon. “The base was rotten.”

Workmen discovered something else, perhaps historic when they inspected the cupola.

“There had been some repairs done on the dome,” he said. “We took off what looked like a repair patch to discover what looked like a bullet hole in the ball on the top of the cupola on which the weathervane sits. The bullet didn’t go through the other side, so it looks like it’s still in there.”

County Commissioner of Jurors Paul O’Neill takes a keen interest in all things historical in the courthouse where he works. “We can’t tell the caliber of the bullet from the entrance hole, but if it’s a lead ball it could date to the Revolutionary War,” he said. “Maybe it came from the celebration on Wall Street at the end of the Civil War. We just don’t know.”

Before they repair and repaint the dome in its once glorious gold, let’s find out.

Called “1818” by locals but located at 285 Wall St., the county courthouse is the oldest occupied historic building in Kingston. The Senate House a few blocks away dates to 1676, but only a small part of the foundation of the original building remains.

A two-story stone building (the center section of the present structure) was built in 1683, the year the county was chartered. It contained the courthouse, the county jail and county offices.

The courthouse was the site of the debate and adoption of the state constitution in early 1777. George Clinton, the first governor of New York, took the oath of office in the courthouse. The Declaration of Independence was read from its front steps in July of 1776. It was burned by the British in October 1777, but refurbished and re-opened in 1789. Sojourner Truth’s successful plea to free her son Peter from slavery was heard at the courthouse in 1828.

A new county jail was added to the rear of the building in 1911 but abandoned when the county built another new jail on Golden Hill in the mid-’70s. Shortly after, the old jail space was renovated for offices for the district attorney and judges. A major renovation of the interior of the building took place in 1994.

Where it gets its 1818 moniker is unknown, according to O’Neill who has done extensive research on the subject. “We could find no record of a celebration that year,” he said.

Contractors say they expect to complete the courthouse project under budget and on time, with a May 4 completion date projected.

Perhaps this time we could have a proper celebration. They might even begin to unofficially call the historic courthouse “2024.”

Corresponding With the Capital

County Executive Jen Metzger has added her voice to that of legislators all over the state for the governor to restore or increase programs over a plethora of programs. It happens every March before the April 1 budget deadline, but was her sharply worded letter, conveyed to Gov. Hochul only last week, too little too late?

It took four hit-and-run deaths, but it appears county government is beginning to get serious about traffic safety. Traffic safety was mentioned in Metzger’s long State of the County message in February. Alas, in county government there is many a slip between lip and tongue. One suggestion I have yet to see is for adequate lighting on narrow roads with little room for pedestrians or bikers.

In our house, road safety lessons, whether it meant walkers, bikers, or drivers, began at home. I can’t believe how many pedestrians walk with traffic or just stroll across the street without looking either way.

The clash between Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha and challenger Gabi Madden heated up this week but will get a lot hotter as the June 25 Democratic primary approaches.

Shrestha has been busily attempting to define her opponent as a tool of big corporations, sort of a (Kevin) Cahill clone. Born and raised in Kingston, Madden presents herself as the hometown candidate, to a fault. I mean, how many times do we have to hear from the Madden team that Shrestha immigrated to this country in 2018 and became a naturalized citizen a year later at the Ulster County Courthouse? (Editor's note: Shrestha moved to Esopus in 2018; she immigrated to the U.S. in 2001.)

A subtext to this campaign will be Shrestha’s support of Palestinians against Madden’s for Israel.

Call me shallow, but is that what contests for state legislature are supposed to be about?

On a more positive note, I’m beginning to believe that Mayor Noble just might bring in the massive $22.5 million Dietz Stadium project on time, even on budget. Kingston High School officials are already announcing a home opener for the Tiger football team in mid-September. Fans better get tickets early.