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the county $5,000 each. Colonel William J. Leonard paid in his pledge immediately and the
work was begun. But the other four, for various reasons, did not make good their pledges and
the county was faced with a new stalemate. For several weeks the work stopped altogether
while the unpaid workmen struck. However, within a short time sufficient funds were raised
both to finish the courthouse and to repay Colonel Leonard.7
Courthouse at Salisbury with Additions
The courthouse of 1878 inspired the admiration of the staunch mid-Victorians of Wi-
comico County, but whatever its esthetic value, it proved adequate for its purpose until well
into the present century. A vault was built for the Clerk of Court in 1905 but apparently no
enlargement of the building was involved.8
By the third decade of this century, it became obvious that it needed to be replaced or
enlarged. But by then Wicomico County, like the rest of the country, found itself lacking in
funds. When funds did become available through the Federal Emergency Administration of
Public Works, the county took advantage of the opportunity to enlarge the courthouse.
W. Twilley and John A. Malone and Ralph W. Williams of Salisbury were the architects for
this extensive addition, which includes a fourth-floor prison, and Seymour Ruff and Sons,
Incorporated, were the contractors. The work was done in 1936, and while the courthouse is
again becoming crowded, it is still far from obsolete.9
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7 Truitt, op. cit., pp. 99-100.
8 Minute, Book, County Commissioners, 1896-1908. pp. 245, 248,
Ms. The builder was James A. McAllen.
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9 Inventory of County and Town Archives, p, 32.
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