HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – During the Aug. 12 Christian County Fiscal Court meeting, Judge Executive Jerry Gilliam gave a update about the fate of the Weber Building in downtown Hopkinsville. Built in 1839, the building’s significance is tied to it’s history, as it currently is the oldest standing structure in downtown Hopkinsville.
At the previous meeting, magistrates voted to surplus the structure from the county due to its poor condition and safety concerns. Initial plans suggested that the lot would be demolished and converted into additional parking downtown.
Public input, next steps for the Weber Building
During public comments at the fiscal court meeting, Tammie Van Buren, treasurer for the Hopkinsville Historic Community, shared some additional insight about the building. Prior to the meeting, she had distributed letters to magistrates that emphasize the importance of preserving the Weber Building. She also mentioned the demolition of other historic structures in the past two years like the Phoenix building and Tiger Stadium.
“When a community loses a historic building, it also loses the stories associated with it, a part of our collective identity and memory passes away,” she told the magistrates. “We are in danger of becoming a community with no tangible ties to its past…this destruction has to stop while we still have something left.”
According to Van Buren, the building survived an attack by the Confederate Army in 1864, also surviving the catastrophic fire of 1882, night rider raids in 1907, and the urban renewals of the 1960s that tore down entire blocks of downtown.
“We have set some parameters that the county attorney is working on to establish the bidding process to see if anyone is interested in purchasing the building,” said Gilliam during the Aug. 12 meeting. He added that there will be stipulations set with the bid to ensure good intent, and this will be an ongoing process.
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