Historic Pinal County courthouse getting a new, old look

FLORENCE, AZ - There'll be a new, old look for the historic Pinal County courthouse in Florence.

Built in 1891, city leaders stopped using it six years ago. But that's about to change.

"I spent a whole lot of my life here in this building and in this courtroom," said John Swearengin.

Swearengin retraces his steps as he walks into the old courtroom.

The 91-year-old remembers what it was like when the Pinal County courthouse was still called pretty new.

"It was very, very central to the whole town as a social place as well as a public building," Swearengin said.

Vacant since 2005, the county board of supervisors approved $6 million for its restoration.

"We're going to restore it back to a period, and that period being around the turn of the century," said Ernie Feliz with Pinal County.

The roof and clock tower have already been fixed. Even though I found out the clock isn't real. It's just painted on at 11:44.

But Feliz told me it's still going to take a lot of work to finish.

"A lot of the work that's involved has to do with what we call mechanical systems, the electrical, the plumbing," he said.

When done, it will hold the newly expanded county Board of Supervisors: a plan to save your taxpayer money by not constructing a new building for the new office space.

"Oh it's the most beautiful building the county has. I'm very proud of this old place," Swearengin said.

It will be a while before these doors open and you can go into the courthouse yourself. They want construction to be done by early 2013