When the Merced County Courthouse was built and opened in 1875, things looked pretty different in Merced.

Brianna Vaccari

The Merced FOCUS

There wasn’t much near the courthouse at that time, but it bustled with activity since it was home to the courthouse, a jail, and county administration offices. Residents got around in horse-drawn carriages, and prisoners on trial dragged their ball and chains up the steps, leaving indentations in the molding.

Today, the courthouse museum houses 8,500 square feet of permanent and rotating exhibits. It’s surrounded by a sprawling, shady park. Over 100 students from Fremont Elementary School visited the Museum Wednesday morning. Over time it has become an iconic landmark, thanks in part to its central location in Merced, but mostly for its beautiful Italian Renaissance Revival architecture.

Groundbreaking Ceremony for Restoration Project

The Merced Historical Society, along with city and county officials, celebrated a milestone for the building on Wednesday. Officials held a ceremony for the groundbreaking of a $3.5 million project to restore the exterior of the historic building.

The renovation is needed to maintain the structural integrity of the building. The project will include repairing the cupola, or the small, crown-like structure that sits atop the building. A contractor that specializes in restoring historic structures will work to replace the windows, repair the decorative tops of the front pillars, strip the old paint and repaint it. County officials estimate the project will wrap up by June 2026.

“The museum is more than an institution of learning,” said Sarah Lim, the director of the courthouse museum. “…It’s the heart of our history and our community, and continues to be a beacon of justice.”

Funding Sources and Community Support

The project is funded by a variety of sources. Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, who previously represented portions of Merced County in Congress, secured $2 million in federal funding. The Merced County Board of Supervisors allocated $1 million for the project, and the California Natural Resources Agency also contributed $500,00. Additionally, the Merced County Historical Society gave $50,000 for the project.

Those in attendance of the ceremony on Wednesday had the chance to write notes or sign their names on cards that will be placed in a time capsule to be buried on site when the project is complete. Various dignitaries were on hand for the ceremony, and certificates from their offices will be included in the capsule, along with a Merced County pin, a challenge coin and newspapers.

More items will continue to be added until it’s time for the capsule to be buried. The hope is that it will be dug up 100 years after it’s buried.

The courthouse museum building has another milestone coming up next year: its 150th anniversary. A celebration is planned for October.

While the construction project is underway, the museum will stay open, Lim said.

Not all historic buildings in Merced have been preserved and updated the way the courthouse has been.

The historic former Merced County library building, which sits not far from the courthouse museum, has been reduced to rubble after a massive fire erupted there last week, causing major damage. That building has been vacant since the 1970s, and efforts to restore it never came to fruition.

The historic courthouse that houses the museum today operated as Merced County’s courthouse until 1950. County administration continued there until the late 1970s, and the building underwent its first major renovation to the tune of $1 million. It reopened as the Courthouse Museum in 1983.

About the Author

Brianna is the accountability and government watchdog reporter for the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative.