07/30/2026
One of the features that often draws guests into 1883 Stutsman County Courthouse State Historic Site is the "Stamped Tin" walls & ceilings. While not original to the Court House, the stamped panels that cover the walls and ceilings were part of a renovation project that was performed by a local metal worker & tinsmith between 1904-1912. We are often asked who he was? The answer: A Stutsman County Pioneer, Businessman, and founding member of Elks Lodge #995 - Jamestown ND, E.B. Thornhill, of course!
Edward Barker "E.B." Thornhill (1849-1929) an Immigrant from Sheffield, Yorkshire, England. He would settle with his wife at Jamestown in 1879 after they Immigrated from Ontario, Canada. E.B. Thornhill would operate a local Hardware and Tin Shop & the Jamestown Bicycle Works on Fifth Ave. South (Today's 1st Ave. S & 2nd St SW the site of The Hansen Arts Park in Jamestown ND). He would be contracted to make everything from Stutsman County's Ballot Boxes, to Gutters and Drains, Stock Tanks, as well as Roof construction & repair as he was the local dealer of Arco-Sealit, an asphalt-based roofing cement and waterproofing compound.
Beginning in 1904 through 1912, E.B. Thornhill would be awarded multiple bids by the Stutsman County Commissioners to install "steel panel walls and ceilings" throughout the Court House, a major feature and attraction of today's 1883 Stutsman County Courthouse State Historic Site. Following his passing in 1929, his body would be returned to Jamestown for burial next to his wife at Highland Home Cemetery. ***As of the evening of July 29, 2026, the Thornhills have no markers, headstone, footstone, or family stone marking their gravesites at Jamestown's Highland Home Cemetery.***
1883 Stutsman County Courthouse State Historic Site is managed by the State Historical Society of North Dakota. The site is open daily 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. through Sept. 7.
