Courthouse digitization a no-brainer

Marion County Probate Judge Paige Vick addressed the Marion County Commissioners on Tuesday, Aug. 3, to ask for a little over $200K to digitize deeds and mortgage files from 1901-2007.
Vick wants to use American Rescue Act funds to move the project forward, but even if this project is not eligible for those monies, we at the Journal Record believe the project should be funded in any way possible.
The importance of digitizing files and historical documents is of supreme importance, especially in our county, where our Marion County Courthouse has suffered greatly.
The Marion County Courthouse burned in 1887 and countless historical documents and files were lost and taken from the courthouse.
We can not afford to lose our history in Marion County should another disaster strike. It is of the utmost importance that our history is preserved--yes, even deeds and mortgages.
We are more capable than ever to scan historical documents and keep them safe from physical damage in an archive.
The decision to scan and archive deeds and mortgages seems a no-brainer--one that we are sure that the commission will agree with.
Given the history of our courthouse, we cannot leave anything--especially our historical documents--to chance.

Even beyond deeds and mortgages, historical documents should be digitized and preserved for future generations in the county. If another disaster were to strike, who knows what manner of history would be lost and forgotten.