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County Courthouse
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The first election of County Officers was held on the second Monday of April 1837 and the following were elected: Wolcott H. Keeler and Jay R. Monroe, Associate Justices; Jeremiah H. Simmons, Judge of Probate; Samuel Gunton, Sheriff; Nathaniel Starkweather, County Clerk and Daniel O. Dodge, Treasurer. The first Courthouse originally fronting the Paw Paw Main Street is now used as the Paw Paw Village Hall and is located at 111 East Michigan Avenue. The present Courthouse was formally dedicated in 1901 and was made possible by a $50,000 subscription by Paw Paw businessmen when South Haven threatened to wrest the County Seat from Paw Paw. Total cost of the present Courthouse and the old Jail was $120,000.
The upper and lower domes of the Courthouse had to be removed from the top of the building for restructuring and repair. This historic project was completed in 1999 at a cost of $249,654.
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County Jail
Courthouse Annex Building
F.I.A., Health Department, Mental Health, Animal Shelter
Human Services East Building
County Building West
County Administration/Land Services Building
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County Jail
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Dedicated January 26, 1963 a $4,000,000 addition to the County Jail was completed with the final architect fee retired at the 1963 June session of Van Buren County Board of Supervisors. This addition adjoined the old Jail and housed an additional 55 prisoners. In May of 1981 remodeling of this addition was contracted for $134,141 and completed in 1982. Renovation of the old Jail was completed in 1987 at costs of approximately $180,000 and is used for out-county prisoners board. In 2001 another addition and remodeling of the jail was completed, the County Building Authority secured bonds for $1,935,000 for cost.
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![County Jail [Click here to view full size picture]](media/history/tn_vbcsheriff.jpg)
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Courthouse Annex Building
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The Courthouse Annex was dedicated in July 1976 and houses 7th District Court East on the main floor. In September 1977 the Probate and Juvenile Courts moved in on the second floor. The total cost of the Annex Building was $663,000. At the end of 2000 the original County Records Building located on Main Street in Paw Paw was damaged extensively by fire. The State Probation offices located in that building had to be moved and now occupy part of the lower level in Courthouse and Annex Building.
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F.I.A., Health Department, Mental Health, Animal Shelter
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The Department of Social Services and Health Department Building located on C.R. 681 in Hartford was put into use in May 1974 at a cost of $446,000 and an addition in October 1978 was completed at a cost of $605,000. In 1991 the County completed construction of a new building located on C.R. 681 to house the Family Independence Agency and the 1974 building was renovated to house the Public and Mental Health. Bonding in the amount of $3,900,000 was obtained for new construction.
The Animal Shelter located off C.R. 681 at Hartford was constructed in January 1978 at a cost of $125,000.
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Human Services East Building
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The County Annexed 21.5 acres of Paw Paw Township property to the Village of Paw Paw and purchased the land on Hazen Street in 1989 for future expansion. The first building dedicated October 26, 1990 housed the County Cooperative Extension Service, Community Mental Health and satellite Public Health Office on this property. The County bonded for this first building in the amount of $2,200,000. In the year 2000 the county erected a new Maintenance Building on the property at a cost of $139,425.
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County Building West
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The Van Buren County Building West at 1007 East Wells Street in South Haven was dedicated in June 1980 at a cost of $745,000. This building houses the 7th District Court West and a branch office of the Prosecuting Attorney. In 1988 the lower level of this building was assigned to the Mental Health Department for offices at a remodeling cost of $215,000.
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County Administration/Land Services Building
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The County purchased the Schuitmaker Building at 219 Paw Paw Street in November 1997 for $1,440,000 and renamed it "Van Buren County Administration/Land Services Building" in 1998. In 1999 vault construction and renovation of the building at a cost of $1,355,567 was completed. In November 1999 the County Register of Deeds and County Treasurer Offices moved to the main floor of this building, and the County Administrator's Office, Information Services Office and Board of Commissioners moved to the 2nd floor. The Board of Commissioners held their first board meeting in their new meeting room in January 2000 followed by an Open House. Remodeling costs totaled $1,368,550 including furnishings. Occupants on the third floor are the offices of County Equalization, Planning and Land Management and GIS, the County Drain Commissioner and the Surveyor. The lower level of the building is occupied by the Friend of the Court Office and that was remodeled in 2000 at an approximate cost of $125,873.
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Page Last Updated: 7/15/2003
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![County Jail [Click here to view full size picture]](javascript:showPic(new picObj('media/history/vbcsheriff.jpg', 'County Jail',1024,768));)
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