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Like nearly all of the rooms in the courthouse, the Register’s office showcases beautiful woodwork extremely symbolic of the era in which the courthouse was built. Gibbs’s specifications called for white pine floors throughout the building – the same pine floors still in place today. Imagine the stories these boards could tell if they could only talk!

At first, the selection of white pine for flooring material might seem unusual. As a soft wood, white pine is susceptible to much more damage than harder woods like oak and maple. Gibbs probably selected pine for its lower cost and ample supply.

White pine is an appropriate choice for a Michigan courthouse built in this era, as the late 19th century witnessed massive waves of lumbering that brought wealth and prosperity to the state. Virgin white pines covered a large portion of Michigan’s lower and upper peninsulas. Today secondary growth white pine still covers vast tracts of the state.

Though pine was popular and readily available, other woods were used throughout the courthouse as well. Nearly all of the massive doors in the building are made of butternut, a hardwood sometimes known as “white walnut”. Like white pine, it is a native Michigan wood. Much of the woodwork in the second floor courtroom is native walnut.