(gentle music) - Feel the spirit of the building.

Buildings are almost like living entities.

They have a soul, they have many souls in them.

- You look up at those angels and there's something mystical, something really awe inspiring.

- And it's a beautiful view.

Not many people get to see it from here.

- They are watching all over our county.

- You do not see that level of detail with other courthouses, it's very rare.

- It's really fascinating that a president worked here.

- It's a lot of the legendary individuals that have come and practice in this courthouse.

- If these walls could talk.

- That's exactly what I was thinking (laughing).

- What would Cleveland do without the Terminal Tower?

- It's iconic to Downtown.

- [Richard] What would Columbus do without the Capitol Building?

- And I think that adds to the culture of the area.

- [Richard] What would Canton do without this iconic structure, with the angel trumpeting up into the heavens?

- [Narrator] For a little over 200 years, justice has inspired the heart of Downtown Canton.

(peaceful music) - The angels are pretty well-lit this morning.

I want to get a couple shots of that.

Just intrigues me, that whole tower intrigues me.

But I love it.

I've been probably, I'd have to say three, 400 times I've been to the courthouse when I really sat and thought about it.

Sometimes it's at nighttime, sometimes it's in the morning, early morning, sometimes it's late at night, thunderstorm, I try to catch the angels.

I just love the architecture of the courthouse.

(peaceful music) - [Narrator] Through all seasons, times of joy and times of sorrow the Stark County Courthouse is the backdrop of history.

The beautiful building many know and love today is actually the third courthouse.

Justice begins in a much simpler fashion on the same site in 1817.

- Bezaleel Wells, who was, you know, who founded Canton also made this property available for the courthouse.

- [Narrator] The 44 by 44 foot, two story brick building completed in 1817, served Stark County for 51 years.

Long enough for a future president and civil war veteran to arrive.

Young attorney William McKinley comes to town in 1867.

- If you had a tough case and you wanted to win, which you always did, William McKinley was the person to seek out.

- [Narrator] With the burgeoning population, there is plenty of business for McKinley and his legal partner, George Belden.

Soon the courthouse is too small.

- The new courthouse, that second courthouse, was constructed, finished in 1870 by which time William McKinley had been elected the County Prosecutor.

And so he practiced in that one courtroom that was in the second courthouse.

That second courthouse lasted about 23 years because Stark County was growing very rapidly and they decided that they needed a larger courthouse.

They decided to save some money by enveloping, renovating and encasing that second courthouse to create a third courthouse.

(peaceful music) And it was designed by an architect by the name of George Hammond from Cleveland, Ohio.

One of the outstanding features of that third courthouse is the fact that he kept that lone courtroom from the second courthouse in and incorporated it into the third court house.

(piano music) - It's the older style of architecture that is so meaningful.

You feel the spiritual quality of it.

You feel the spiritual quality when you're in a room like this, talking about President McKinley or the Attorney McKinley being in here.

(triumphant music) - [Narrator] When McKinley runs for the White House, the courthouse is adorned with patriotic decorations.

(triumphant music) (solemn music) Tragically during his second term in 1901, the same citizens who decorate for his triumph are called upon to drape the structure in mourning, when the president is assassinated.

- The churches, all public buildings and even private residences, there are draped in black.

But there's ladies that will sit at sewing machines day and night and make these drapes.

And all of the stores that have fabric are kept open until there's no more fabric left.

- [Narrator] McKinley's body is brought back to his hometown to lie in state at the site where he spent so much of his time.

He is beloved here as one of Cantons own.

A people person who knew thousands by name.

- In stark County, it's estimated about 35,000 people viewed him.

- [Narrator] McKinley's home, the sight of his famous front porch campaign no longer exists, making the preservation of the courthouse even more important (piano keys tinkling) - The Stark County courthouse is faced with a lot of responsibilities.

You know, restoring and repairing it, older buildings require that.

But this is a gem.

This kind of a curved motif is typical of ionic design.

- [Narrator] The author of "Architecture In Canton," M. J. Albacete, encourages passers-by to look up to see the story the courthouse is trying to tell.

Focus closely on the triangle known as the pediment.

- I think it is unique in the State of Ohio that it has a sculpted pediment.

On the left side you will see what is called a Gibbs Plow and you'll see a man hooking up a couple of horses.

That refers to the establishment of the Gibbs Company early on in Stark County, making plows and other farm implements that were very important in that industry.

- [Narrator] In the center are four symbolic figures representing commerce, blind justice, agriculture and industry.

Justice has an interesting touch.

- And on her left side, is a peculiar little creature they're sitting on a throne.

It is an owl, and that is a ancient Greek symbol of wisdom.

So that the judges, et cetera, the attorneys would be informed through wisdom.

The stark County Courthouse is in what we would call a Beaux-Arts tradition which prevailed in this area from about 1870 into the early 1900s.

In the Beaux-Arts tradition there's generally a mixture of styles.

The main structure is a stone structure and it has beautiful windows placed strategically.

Some of those windows, which may actually come from the second building, you'll see the wreath and torch in one of the other courtrooms.

Laurel wreath meaning achievement, the torch for truth, illumination, justice.

You'll see that motif in a number of places.

- [Narrator] Strength and usefulness are important factors to architects of the time.

But so too is beauty.

The marble paneling is beautiful and practical.

- That with so many people walking through and touching the walls, painted walls would get soiled and be very, very difficult to clean.

Marble cleans very, very easily.

(triumphant music) - [Narrator] Exquisite details are everywhere you look.

(triumphant music) Above all, a single clock tower dominates with the trumpeters of justice.

It is taller than the previous two towers on the second building.

- [MJ] Having a larger tower was very important because at the time there were no tall buildings in Canton.

This was the tallest and so if you were coming on coach or train or whatever to Canton and you wanted to know where the Downtown was you saw the trumpeters of justice high overhead and you knew that's where you had to go.

Especially if you were on trial for anything.

They're erroneously called angels.

They are trumpeters of justice.

There are angelic figures but they are trumpeters of justice.

- From the top of her head to the tip of her toe, she's very detailed.

All four of the angels are exactly the same.

They each weigh 450 pounds and the detail in her upsweep hairdo, the dimples, the nostrils, the ear lobes, even the ear canals.

A lot of details people wouldn't even know about because they stand 80 feet off the ground.

- [Narrator] The artist etched them carefully nonetheless, possibly thinking of future staff devoted to the courthouse.

Mark Warner has worked here for 42 years, 20 of them as Courthouse Administrator.

Although weddings are not typically held here, Mark found a way to bring two of his loves together.

His bride and the courthouse, getting married in the McKinley Courtroom.

(piano keys tinkling) He also finds a way to get up close to the trumpeters of justice.

(bell gonging) - We're in the courthouse clock tower.

This tower dates from the 1890s, when the third court house was completed.

Atop the top the clock tower sits the trumpeters of justice at about eight stories high.

I'm standing next to a ladder that used to be used to climb this clock tower.

And having done that on a couple of occasions, I can tell you it was a very scary thing to climb this clock tower.

But about 10 years ago, we installed a new ladder system that makes it much safer.

(piano playing) (boots stomping) And this is what powers all four of the clock faces that face all four directions.

You can see that the works are actually functioning, the gears are turning.

When we get up to the next level we'll actually be able to see the four o'clock faces.

(piano playing) I'm entering the bell tower area of the clock tower.

(door opening) And this area here was actually removed in 1998 to take the bell and this cupola down and the trumpeters of justice, because the condition of the tower was such that they were afraid that the tower was going to collapse and fall.

(piano playing) And there's another hatch that leads outside to the angels.

(piano playing) This is a beautiful view of the city but I'm outside standing next to the angel and I'm going to move around to the next one now.

(piano playing) It's rather tight quarters.

They point in four directions, to the Northwest the Southwest, the Northeast, and the Southeast.

You get a beautiful view of the city.

(piano playing) From here I can actually see the McKinley monument a couple of miles away.

- It's very unusual to have a courthouse with four figures like that looking out to the four cardinal points drawing attention to the center of Canton.

(piano playing) - [Woman] Is that your understanding?

- [Narrator] This historic building sees felony trials and civil lawsuits.

The work of the Court of Common Pleas General Division.

That work was made more difficult in the past by the deteriorating condition of the courthouse.

Judge John Haas took the bench in 1989.

- It was still a thrill to come to this courthouse but it was not being cared for.

And the Supreme Court had come to sit en banc here at Stark County and indicated at that time in the early 90s this was the worst courthouse in the State of Ohio.

- I remember one of my colleagues in the Public Defender's Office, Brad Iams having some ceiling tiles collapsed on the floor in front of the jury.

It was pretty embarrassing.

- Try to envision a window with broken panes that were open to the outside with duct tape holding them together as best as possible, periodically a bird coming in.

And that's what the state of this courthouse was prior to the renovation.

And that impacts when lawyers from out of the area come to this courthouse and they were meeting with you in less than ideal situations.

It made it extra hard to get that sense of professionalism.

(peaceful music) With the renovation it's a totally different setting where it's very inspiring.

- As a board member of a preservation society.

It impresses me that the building still exists.

It's remarkable when you think how many times this building was almost destroyed.

So it's marvelous and the condition of it today is just exemplary, it's magnificent.

- [Man] You get until next Monday to think about it.

- [Narrator] Law enforcement is a vital part of the courthouse and the Criminal Justice System.

A quiet reminder of the fallen heroes of Stark County stands next to the courthouse.

Names of those killed in the line of duty are listed on the Peace Officer's Memorial.

(taps music) (crowd chattering) - We deal with some very high-profile cases and we deal with some very dangerous defendants who are accused of committing very serious crimes out there.

I am convinced that, but for the level of security that we have here that we would have had incidents in this courthouse.

It's an unfortunate thing that in our country today, courthouses are often targets.

- [Narrator] The Sheriff's Department handles security for the courthouse, including transporting defendants from the jail to holding cells in the basement.

- Women and men are separated.

Early in my career here, it was unusual to see women prisoners.

Now, not so much.

- [Narrator] Deputies have a private way to get prisoners to and from court so that they do not mix with the public.

Back in 1870, it was a different story.

If arrested, you would find yourself on courthouse property in this building, the Courthouse Annex.

- This was the site of the Courthouse Annex.

The annex was originally built to be the Sheriff's residence and the side of the local jail.

- In 1880, three prisoners here become the focus of national attention.

- It was the infamous boy murders of Stark County cases.

There were three separate cases.

- [Narrator] Two teenagers, Gustave Ohr and George Mann are convicted of murdering a railroad drifter for money.

Another team John Sammett is convicted of murdering a friend who could testify against him in a burglary.

All three are sentenced to death.

- So hundreds, thousands of people through the spring months were coming to see the boys.

There was a general sentiment that their death sentences wont be commuted because they were so young and because there were so many religious leaders petitioning the Governor for commutation.

- [Narrator] More than 10,000 gather prior to the execution with the state militia called in to maintain order.

A circus comes to town to take advantage of the crowds.

Families set up picnics.

It would become the first lawful public execution of juveniles in the state.

- And on June 25th of 1880, the three were hung together.

And in a case that drew national outrage and attention, by 1885, the State House passed a law saying, "There would be no further public executions in this state."

From that point forward, all executions would be carried out inside the walls of the Ohio Penitentiary.

So the boy murders of Stark County ushered in the more secretive and private method of executing the most heinous criminals among us.

(music) (peaceful music) - Narrator] Legal Legends are counted among those who argue and preside over cases here throughout the years.

Among the ranks are a President, a Congressman (piano music) and even an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

- It just brings that sense and makes sure that you don't want to mess that up.

You want to keep that tradition going.

- [Narrator] A more recent judge who inspires many today is pictured on the fourth floor.

Judge Ira Turpin became the first African-American to serve in the prosecutor's office in 1957, before Martin Luther King became well-known.

- I think there was only one Black person working in the courthouse at that time.

And I had a good practice that I had just about destroyed because I was in court just about everyday in the prosecutor's office.

I took that job for $5,800 and I was making better than $10,000 a year in my practice.

You do a lot of things because of not necessarily your own self, but for other people to make the world better, to make things better for your people.

- [Narrator] Turpin went on to be elected judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1972 the first African-American to win countywide office.

His work ethic is legendary earning him the first Superior Judicial Award in Stark County.

In 1983, he became judge of the Fifth District Court of Appeals.

There is a fund in Judge Turpin's name recognizing minority junior high and high school students in Stark County who exhibit his character and commitment to community service.

- Knowing that there was an African-American judge that presided in this court, it just brings chills quite honestly because it is possible for it to happen.

Other attorneys can know and continue to learn about his significance in this court and in this community.

(peaceful music) - We now have majority female judges on the bench in Stark County.

We have much more inclusion in terms of gender and race.

Yes, of course, we have lots of room for additional change.

(peaceful music) - We have younger judges coming on that still share that sense of pride in this courthouse.

So I see no way in which this court house will not continue to be a centerpiece in Downtown Canton and for Stark County.

- I hope people start to pay more attention to the architectural details of the building, because if you stop and look around, it's almost akin to stopping and smelling the roses.

If you stop and look around both inside and outside of this building there's wonderful features to appreciate and to hold here.

- The commitment of the community now after what has been put into this to restore and bring it back to its original glory it'll be around for many generations to come.

(gentle orchestral music)