Piute Heritage Courthouse Has 120 Years of Stories to Tell

Like a majestic rock formation, the Piute Heritage Courthouse stands with her red bricks stacked proud and tall above Junction, Utah, as she has done for the past 120 years. The plum trees have blossomed, and the ducks are swimming along the canal looking for breakfast as the sun rises above the white mountains. It’s the perfect spot to reflect on Piute County past and present, which is probably why it became the spot for family reunions.

For almost the entire 20th century, the four-towered courthouse quietly presided over the town, seeing her fair share of outlaws and ruffians, but also of happy couples finalizing marriages and Piute children digging for worms.

Around the turn of the century, the courthouse was no longer up to code for a government building. In 1997, it took on a new role: bringing families together as a giant vacation rental. For years it operated as a bed and breakfast.

When the courthouse went up for sale again in 2022, it once again needed a certain type of person to care for it. Ben and Katherine Kenney were those types of people, especially Ben. “It was kind of a nice fit for me but would not be a good fit for many people,” said Ben Kenney.

Ben was experienced professionally in construction, and he had done a lot of historic remodels, so he was not afraid of the size of the endeavor. He had also been involved, with his family growing up, in the family reunion business.

The Historic Nature of the Courthouse

Getting the courthouse up and running as a vacation rental was not too difficult. Ben said it was more like buying a business than a building, so all they had to do was build on the current brand. The hard part was honoring the historic nature of the building. That is something the Kenneys continue to work toward daily.

Built in 1903, the courthouse followed popular Edwardian architecture. “Like the bell tower being off-center is very Edwardian,” Ben said. The bell tower on the left front corner is the largest, and the only real tower on the building. The arched windows and arches above the doorways were also a product of the time.

History Restored

It doesn’t take long after talking to Ben Kenney to learn that one of his passions is turning people’s attention to history. “Anytime we do something, we’re trying to return it to the architecture style of the Edwardian era,” he said.

The building is still structurally sound, with most of the original architecture preserved. But the Kenneys have done more than just preserve the building, they have tried to restore parts of it to how it would have looked when it was in use. They have old photos of how the courthouse would have looked when it was young, which inform their decoration decisions.

On the inside, the Kenneys emphasized the architecture, using the space for a library with ladders and a courtroom turned game room with original furniture such as the jury box and judges bench. They were also intentional about choosing light fixtures, chairs and other pieces of furniture that would have existed in 1900.

On the outside, they care for the 100-year-old trees and grounds, plant rose bushes and new trees, and build historic mystery structures in front. 

In the basement, which is not accessible to guests, there are still blackened rafters from a fire in the 1940s. In the back are untouched rooms of concrete called coal bins from when the building was heated by coal.

The People Who Passed Their Days There

Of course, a historic building is nothing without the people who passed their days there. 

Last year, in honor of the courthouse’s 120th anniversary, the Kenneys put up a booth at the county fair and asked for stories. Most people in Piute County have some kind of connection to the courthouse, whether their parents got married there, or they worked there. One such person is Piute County’s oldest resident, Irva Sudweeks, who worked for eight years as the county clerk.

One woman shared on Facebook that she was always afraid to enter the basement because it made spooky sounds that probably came from the old furnace. Another person shared that his mom used to work in the courthouse. When he was a kid she would bring him to work, and he would wander around the grounds looking for worms to take fishing.

Going further back, the building site was originally donated by pioneer and prominent Piute County resident John Morrill, whose house still stands on the corner of the courthouse lot. In its younger days, the courthouse is known for being the site of outlaw cases and mining suits.

The Next Generation of Stories of Piute Heritage Courthouse

The Kenneys always have more future projects for this beautiful courthouse. To help tell its story, they are currently working on getting grant money to do more history work. Just recently on their YouTube channel, they announced plans for a historic bell on the front lawn.

The Kenneys are also very much interested in continuing to document people’s stories of the historic building. You can find more about their own story at utahfamilyreunion.com/ or on Facebook or Instagram.

Whatever stories the Kenneys find, the Piute Heritage Courthouse will always have more to tell. And hopefully that will never go away. Hopefully the courthouse will always stand tall in the heart of that Edwardian outlaw county for decades to come. After all, Piute County would not be complete without the courthouse, and the courthouse would be nothing without Piute County.

– by Abbie Call

Feature image caption: If the walls of the Piute Heritage Courthouse could talk, what stories would they tell? Junction, Utah. 2023. Photos courtesy of Ben Kenney/utahfamilyreunion.com.

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