The DeKalb County Courthouse stands in relative peace in the year of its 100th anniversary, but it opened to controversy in 1904.

DeKalb County historian Phyllis Kelley works in the Joiner History Room of the Sycamore Public Library, 103 E. State St., and is compiling a historical courthouse display slated to open April 1.

Deciding the location of the courthouse pitted prominent family members against one another, Kelley said.

Barbed wire barons Isaac Ellwood and Jacob Haish petitioned to have the courthouse built in DeKalb, she said.

Ellwood had four brothers living in Sycamore, one being the town mayor, and they wanted to see the courthouse built in Sycamore, Kelley said.

With $140,000 appropriated by the county and construction slated to begin in Sycamore, Ellwood and Haish drew up a petition calling for a vote on the location and garnered hundreds of signatures.

However, Sycamore resident and County Clerk A.S. Kinsloe failed to have a notice of the vote printed as required, Kelley said.

Kelley said she thinks Kinsloe’s failure to print the notice was convenient, given his residency in Sycamore.

Laws governing voting would not allow a vote without prior notification in the paper. Without a vote against building the courthouse in Sycamore, construction began July 1, 1903, and the building opened in October 1904.

A celebration will take place Sept. 26 to honor the building’s history.

The celebration will include games, food, high school bands and building tours.

Residents who take the tour will see the central staircase, made of gray Tennessee marble.

Above the staircase, on the third floor, is the courtroom where scenes for the movie “Will” were filmed in 1981. The movie told the story of G. Gordon Liddy of Watergate fame.

Another courtroom was added in 2003.

Ken Campbell, DeKalb County facilities manager, said the new courtroom has a modern feel with clean lines, though it is furnished with 100-year-old chairs and other original pieces.

The Joiner History Room plans to celebrate the courthouse with an educational display at the Sycamore Public Library.

It will be ready April 1 and will be on display throughout the summer, Kelley said.

Interested residents can visit the Joiner History Room from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Kelley can be reached at 895-7271.