History Question

Who was the man who was
allowed to live in the
first courthouse?
Answer on Page 2-A

History Question Answer

Hanson Baldwin was allowed to “occupy the South Room under the Court House as a private dwelling for one year to be Resinded (sic) at the pleasure of the Court at any time, according to county records from Aug. 2, 1837 – 170 years ago.
Baldwin was originally a resident of the Western Prong area, and was born on Nov. 11, 1812 – not quite four years after Columbus County was formed on Dec. 14, 1808.
Baldwin was almost 25 when he took up residence in the courthouse, presumably as a custodian. He must have had some blacksmithing skills, because the county paid him 70 cents in May 1838 for some hinges for the door to the jury room.
His parents were Charles and Amelia Kelly Baldwin. Hanson appeared in the court records for the first time in August 1834 when he and J.C. Powell and Samuel Bright were named “patrols” for the “upper destrick” from Whiteville to the Prong.
His next three entries in county records regarded a charge of assault and battery. He was found guilty in 1835 and paid $10 and cost. He was judged not guilty of a second charge in 1836.
Hanson Baldwin’s stay in the courthouse, however, was short. He was dead by the fall of 1839 from an unknown cause.