By Linda Kor After a long and challenging effort, the Historic Navajo County Courthouse in Holbrook will finally receive a new roof. The combined efforts of the Navajo County Historical Society (NCHS), the City of Holbrook and Navajo County have brought together the $197,244 needed for the replacement. The work will be completed by Restore Pro, Inc., a company out of Snowflake. The courthouse was originally built in 1898 shortly after Navajo County was formed, with a wood shingle roof and that was last repaired in 1929 with asbestos shingles that are now on top of those original wood shingles. The 90-year-old roof is full of pinhole leaks and has whole sections of missing shingles, endangering the treasure held within its walls. The courthouse is a living piece of Arizona’s Old West and Route 66 history in and of itself but it also holds the history of the Navajo County area dating back thousands of years. Sitting on The Mother Road, the courthouse is home to an official Arizona Visitors’ Center and the Historic Holbrook Museum, both of which can see more than 2,500 visitors each month. The effort to raise the funds for this project has been ongoing for several years. While both the City of Holbrook and Navajo County government have allocated funding for this project, much of the money was collected through fundraising efforts by the NCHS and local donations. Some large and others as small as the proceeds of a children’s lemonade stand, making this truly a community effort.
