Memoirs of Waukesha County. From the earliest historical times to the present with chapters on various subjects, including each of the different towns, and a genealogical and biographical record of representative families in the county, prepared from data obtained from original sources of information.

              162 MEMOIRS  OF  WAUKESHA  COUNTY
which caused considerable excitement at the time, but none involv¬ ing questions of legal rights as in those cited above.
The Waukesha county bar has claimed a number of exceptionally brilliant men. Two governors, William A. Barstow and Alex. W. Randall have been given to the state and both branches of the legisla¬ ture have drawn upon its membership. With no intention of making invidious comparisons, the following may be mentioned as having served the public and honored their profession in various ways and for many years: Andrew E. Elmore, Henry D. Barron, Daniel H. Sumner, Col. Warham Parks, Cushman K. Davis and others were members of the Waukesha bar who in one way and another made en¬ during reputations at home and abroad.
The present Waukesha county court house occupies the same site as the the old court house, the greater part of a square on a rise of ground near the center of the city. The building is one of the hand¬ somest in a city whose native building stone had been greatly utilized, and consequently presents more architectural beauty than most cities of its size. The building of the court house, which is now a source of pride to every citizen, was accomplished only after a hard strug¬ gle, and the vote by which it was ordered in 1893 was fifteen to thir¬ teen. The building committee consisted of M. L. Snyder—now mayor —Judson Hall, county clerk and secretary, Charles F. Steele, Andrew McCormmick, Thomas E. Jones and John A. Rodgers.
So fearful were they that the slight majority which had been gained might yield to the pressure of public opinion and reconsider their ac¬ tion, that the committee began to tear down the old building on the very day that the measure was passed^January 5, 1893. The cost of the present court house was $70,000. It is handsomely finished and within its spacious walls all of the county officers are domiciled, and the archives and public documents are safely stored in fire-proof vaults and safes.