Wake County Court House, Raleigh, N.C.
This week on Flashback Friday we feature a ‘linen’ type postcard depicting the long-gone 1915 Wake County Courthouse on Fayetteville Street.
Wake County Court House, beautiful granite structure, built in 1915, cost $225,000. On the lawn, in front of Court House, stands the memorial to the volunteer nurse, Miss Eliza Riddick, who lost her life in influenza epidemic of 1918.
I am laying over here for four hours on my way to Florida. Will write you as soon as I arrive.
Love, Bud
In 1944, our correspondent, PFC ‘Bud’ Sprecher, 333rd Base HQ and Air Base Squadron, was stationed at Seymour Johnson Field, Goldsboro (now known as Seymour Johnson Air Force Base). During a brief layover in Raleigh, probably at Raleigh’s Union Bus Depot on Morgan St., Bud took a few moments to dash off this card to his parents back home in Maryland. A good kid; dutiful son. I’m curious, though, why Bud was headed to Florida — on leave, maybe; or perhaps there was another air force facility located there during WWII he was being sent to?
The courthouse building depicted was Wake County’s third to be built on the Fayetteville Street site. The boldly colonnaded Beaux Arts structure was designed by the renowned Atlanta architect Philip Thornton Marye and erected in 1915. The county demolished the aging building in 1967, and the current courthouse opened on the site in 1970. (Note: Mayre’s edifice was constructed of brick and cast terra cotta, not granite, as stated on the card.)
E. C. Kropp Co.  1907-1956
Milwaukee, WIA publisher and printer that began producing chromolithographic souvenir cards and private mailing cards in 1898 under the name Kropp. These cards were of much higher quality than those that would printed under the E.C. Kropp name.
They became the E.C. Kropp Company in 1907 and produced large numbers of national view-cards and other subjects. Their latter linen cards had a noticeably fine grain. Sold to L.L. Cook in 1956 and they are now part of the GAF Corp. U.S.
“Flashback Friday†is a weekly feature of Goodnight, Raleigh! in which we showcase vintage postcards depicting our historic capital city. We hope you enjoy this week-end treat!
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07/06/2012
I went to that grand building once, with my mother, c.1959. I was eight years old. What has stuck with me all these years are the outdoor public water fountains, labelled in big, plainly lettered signage “colored” and “white.” I asked my mother what would happen if you drank from the wrong fountain. My mother, never at a loss for an answer, whether she knew what she was talking about or not, said, “You go to jail.”
I decided to put that notion to the test within a few days when my parents, buying a new house, spent several neverending nights after work at Sears in Cameron Village, deciding on appliances. They left me to roam the store by myself. I had noticed, in the entrance foyer, the separate but equal sets of bathrooms, and clearly labelled water fountains. The first night I was on the loose I took a peek into the women’s bathrooms. They were exactly the same, just mirror images of each other.
The next neverending night, I guess when the parents were closing the deal over in appliances, I walked right over to the “colored” fountain, stepped on the pedal, and took a drink.
Nothin’. No sirens, no big uniformed man to drag me away. There were, apparently, no hidden cameras to make sure I stayed white.
I put it on my bucket list to try to get arrested at the County Courthouse water fountains, but by the time I got around to it, such nonsense had been stopped.
07/07/2012
I did that at Sears too, and my mother yanked a knot in me. You would have thought that the world was coming to an end.
07/07/2012
Florida was a major area for Army Air Corps training during WWII. There were several airbases throughout the state.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Florida_World_War_II_Army_airfields
07/07/2012
Really too hot to do much else:
Russell S Sprecher, wife Martha, daughters Mildred and Mary and son E Purnell are enumerated in the 1930 US Census living in on East Joppa Rd, Baltimore, MD. E Purnell was 6 years old at the time. An Edward P Sprecher, born 1923, single with two years of high school, and living in Maryland, enlisted 04 March 1943 in Baltimore. He listed his civilian occupation as shipping/receiving clerk. He was “released” on 07 July 1944. Edward Sprecher died in 1993.
07/07/2012
List of Base Hq and Air Base Sqs 1 Jul 1943 :
333rd (AAF Technical Training Command) Seymour Johnson Field, N. C.
From Wikipedia:
“Construction of Seymour Johnson Field started on 9 March 1942 and by 10 July 1942 the 333d Base HQ and Air Base Squadron was established as the host unit. Col Walter J. Reed was the first commander. Seymour Johnson Field was assigned to the USAAF Technical Training Command, and the airfield’s initial mission was Field Aviation Cadet Pre-Technical School Training in bomber mechanics.”
07/07/2012
Back in the 1960’s my father worked a the Post Office right beside the courthouse. He watched the demolition and somehow managed to bring home heart pine timbers from the building to build our den and windows from this building which I still have in the barn. I do remember this building seemed so imposing.
07/10/2012
what happened to the “memorial to the volunteer nurse, Miss Eliza Riddick, who lost her life in influenza epidemic of 1918.”? I assume it was moved somewhere; anyone know where?
07/10/2012
Michael and RN51 — Thanks for the backstory on the WWII US Air Force bases in Florida and Seymour Johnson AFB.
RN51 — Thanks for researching the Sprecher family, as it gives us context for the message “Bud” wrote to his parents so long ago.
HG and RN51 — I too remember the segregated water fountains on the courthouse lawn and in Sears in Cameron Village. I remember asking my Mom when shopping in Penny’s in Cam Vill once if ‘colored’ water came out of the fountain. She didn’t say anything but just took me by the hand and pulled me into the boy’s shoe department. I guess I was 6 or 7 at the time.
Jeff C — I don’t know what happened to the Eliza Riddick memorial or the scale model of the Statue of Liberty which flanked it on the other side of the lawn. I have seen no evidence of them on public display anywhere in downtown. Possibly they are stashed away in some forgotten county storage facility, or were just hauled to the dump with the rest of the demo rubble. And Raleighnative — hang on to those timbers! They may be among the last remaining remnants of the old courthouse!
09/16/2012
What happened to the small Statue of Liberty on Fayetteville St—–it stood near the Post Office
During the early 1950s? I loved this as a child and would love to know where it is now.
09/19/2012
Beth B — I’m afraid the little Statue of Liberty is long-lost. It was located on the courthouse lawn next door to the post office. The last time I saw it was during demolition of the courthouse in 1967, http://goodnightraleigh.com/2008/09/reminiscences-of-a-raleigh-boy-part-6/ and as far as I know, it has not been seen since.
10/29/2012
Raleigh-Boy—-thank you so much for your response. If you ever learn anything more about the little Statue of Liberty that stood on Fayetteville St——please let me know.
She will always be a special childhood memory—–My mother and I would have lunch at the old S and W restaurant and always visit the the little statue. Again, thank you for responding.
01/24/2013
The model of the Statue of Liberty was on the Wake Courthouse grounds (side next to post office). It was placed there by the Boy Scouts in 1950 (their 40th anniversary). I have no idea what happened to it. The memorial to the volunteer nurse who died during the flu epidemic was moved to the NCSU campus.
05/12/2013
This is my Dad! Very wonderful man. I miss him a lot. I remember he said he went to Florida as a service man and talked about getting a very bad sunburn! Thanks for the site. I came across it by accident and really treasure the post card and notations.
05/13/2013
Oh my goodness, that’s my Uncle Bud. He was a wonderful man, easy-going, tons of fun, and had a terrific sense of humor. I too miss him. My mom, his sister Mary, would have loved to have seen this card. Unfortunately, mom died March 14, 2011. Since my Uncle Bud mail this card to his parents in Maryland – does anyone know how the author of this site got this post card? Thanks!
05/13/2013
I was a Boy Scout in 1950 (Troop 10, Edenton Street Methodist Church) and participated in a small parade down Fayetteville Street to recognize the occasion and dedicate the small version of the Statue of Liberty. It was mounted on what looked to be a railroad luggage cart with small wheels. I still recall that we pulled the cart with ropes with some difficulty. The statue was placed on a courthouse pedestal sometime(?) after the parade. Tom Belton has a good memory. John
05/13/2013
Although Raleigh’s Statue of Liberty has disappeared you can still see Wilmington’s in their downtown area.
07/18/2013
THIS IS THE TEXT FOR THE PLAQUE ON THE STATUE OF LIBERTY ONCE LOCATED IN THE FRONT OF THE WAKE COUNTY COURTHOUSE AND NOW MISSING. THE TEXT ON THE PLAQUE WAS CENTERED:
WITH THE FAITH AND COURAGE OF THEIR FOREFATHERS WHO MADE POSSIBLE THE FREEDOM OF THESE UNITED STATES
THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA DEDICATE THIS COPY OF THE STATUE OF LIBERTY AS A PLEDGE OF EVER LASTING FIDELITY AND LOYALTY
40Th ANNIVERSARY CRUSADE TO STRENGTHEN THE ARM OF LIBERTY 1950
Also how does one go about submitting an article to this website? I may have missed it but I don’t see any instructions.
09/30/2013
I wanted to share some sleuthing I did and thought this might be a good thread to do it in. The verdict is that I am pretty sure the original 1795 courthouse, the first built in the new Raleigh street network for Wake County, is visible on the Drie map (1872 hand drawn map from a hot air balloon over Dix). Note, this is not the original County courthouse made of logs next to Joel Lanes house. Reading Elizabeth Reid Murray’s volume 1 on Wake County one evening I noted she said the original 1795 courthouse was moved to the vicinity of Wilmington and Davie Streets in the 1850’s (she notes the exact year but I’m working from memory) and used as a hotel. As an aside the second courthouse is visible in Drie too at the courthouse lot…it is the same courthouse we often see in later pictures but was expanded (2 wings added) and redesigned (bricked and mansard roof added) into the second empire style we are used to seeing. Anyway, also on Drie, right at the intersection of Wilmington and Davie, labeled number 47 is the “City Hotel”. It looks colonial/Federal in style and I thought this must be it! I checked the few Sanborn maps I have downloaded and it appears to have been standing still in 1896 but gone by 1914. I have not downloaded the 1903 map set. But…this still means there should a picture out there, somewhere, of the second Wake County Courthouse. GNR, can you possibly go hunting for a photograph of this intersection pre-1900 ? I think it would be truly amazing to actually have a picture of it….