Supreme Court traveling to county as in 1803

LISBON - When justices from the Supreme Court of Ohio ride into Columbiana County later this month, they'll be following the circuit of their predecessors - except they won't be riding horseback.

That's how the early judges (now known as justices) traveled throughout the state when it was first formed in 1803, carrying clean linens in their saddlebags and the law in their head, according to a Supreme Court of Ohio publication.

Judge William Sprigg of Jefferson County and Judge Samuel Huntington of Trumbull County sat on the first Supreme Court of Ohio bench, which was established in 1802 with three judges appointed by Congress. Return Jonathan Meigs Jr. of Washington County served as the first Chief Judge.

Sprigg and Huntington held one of the first sessions of the Supreme Court of Ohio on June 14, 1803, in Columbiana County, at a spot off state Route 7 in Fairfield Township now marked by a plaque mounted on a stone. A former highway rest area, the glimpse into history is now under the control of the Columbiana County Park District.

On April 22, nearly 206 years since the first visit, the Supreme Court of Ohio will hold another session in the county, this time as part of its Off-Site Court Program aimed at teaching high school students how the court works.

Students from throughout the county will have the opportunity to observe oral arguments in one of four Supreme Court cases to be convened in the downtown courthouse in Lisbon.

Judge David Tobin's Common Pleas bench on the second floor will become home to the seven justices, including Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer and fellow Justices Paul Pfeifer, Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, Maureen O'Connor, Terrence O'Donnell, Judith Ann Lanzinger and Robert R. Cupp. A few modifications will be completed for the visit to fit all seven justices.

In 1803, the accommodations at the house of Matthias Lower (described as a barn in one historical account), probably weren't as accommodating, but served the purpose for official court business.

The "History of Columbiana County, Ohio" edited by Horace Mack in 1879 quoted a certificate regarding the first session, "...William Larwell, of Pittsburgh, the State of Pennsylvania, Esquire, was admitted as attorney and counselor of this court, and authorized to practice as such in the several courts of record in this State."

The document was signed by Reasin Beall, the clerk of the Supreme Court of the state of Ohio, Columbiana County.

Mack's history also noted that Lower's residence served as the first location for the Court of Common Pleas, describing the atmosphere with this passage: "It is said that the jury sat on a log while making up their verdict, and also that it was difficult to transact the business of the court because of the neighing of horses."

The plaque at the spot reads: "The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio held one of its first sessions in the house of Matthias Lower, the temporary seat of justice for Columbiana County, at this site on the 14th day of June 1803. Samuel Huntington and William Spriggs presided as judges of said court. This stone placed by the state highway department under the auspices of the Columbiana County Bar Association in October in 1939."

During the dedication program held Nov. 4, 1939, at Firestone Park in Columbiana, Chief Justice Carl V. Weygandt of the Supreme Court of Ohio delivered the address.

In recent years, the county Bar Association stepped forward again to preserve the monument when the Ohio Department of Transportation decided to close the rest area. Arrangements were made to turn the property over to the park district so the monument would remain in a public area where residents, or perhaps traveling justices, could visit.

mgreier@salemnews.net