PARK COUNTY - The Old Park County Courthouse seldom sees a trial anymore, but on a Wednesday in early November, Mrs. Lynde Iozzo's English III class at South Park High School filled the third floor courtroom as students representing the characters of Mary Shelley's "Dr. Frankenstein and the Monster" leveled charges at one another for negligence, malpractice, wrongful death and emotional distress.

Sitting at his old bench, Park County Judge Stan Mayhew presided over the mock civil case just as he did for 10 years before court trials were moved to the new Park County District 11 Courthouse on Fourth Street in 1985.

The plaintiff's case against Frankenstein's creation, whom they called a violent eight-foot monster, was somewhat damaged by the fact that Judge Kitty, the permanent feline occupant of the Old Courthouse, chose to curl up in the monster's lap during the proceedings. However, evidently believing in equality before the law, the cat soon jumped down and made his way to "Dr. Frankenstein" for a brief petting session before strolling out of the courtroom on other business.

After hearing testimony, Judge Mayhew ruled that the charges from both sides canceled out each other. "You deserve each other," he told the participants.

The class enjoyed the opportunity to test their legal abilities with the mock trial, especially in a "real" courtroom.

"I didn't have any idea how hard it would be to think on my feet like that," said Rebecca Peal, who acted as the Monster's attorney.

The Old Courthouse on Main Street has hosted many trials since its completion in 1874, including the famous Hoover case in which the townspeople did not agree with the sentence handed down by the circuit judge and hanged the convicted man from a front window of the courthouse. In the most popular version of the incident, the traveling judge found a noose on his judge's bench the next morning and he and the district attorney decided to depart without ever having adjourned the court.

The distinctive, Italianate building now serves as the Fairplay branch of the Park County Library, and also houses the offices of the library director, the coroner, the Park County Historic Preservation Advisory Commission and the local history archives.

The Old Courthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is the oldest courthouse in the state in continuous use. The courtroom on the third floor of the historic building remains unchanged since 1985, when the county and District 11 legal proceedings were moved to the new courthouse on Fourth Street.

The Old Courthouse received a new roof, and the six historic chimneys were reconstructed last year.

This year, the entrance is undergoing rehabilitation reusing some of the existing stones and, where necessary, stones from the original quarry used for building the distinctive red courthouse.

Most of the funding for the rehabilitation projects on the county-owned building came from grants provided by the State Historic Fund, with money provided through gambling revenues from Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek.

Even though some offices share the courtroom, visitors are welcome, and the room is frequently used for meetings and library story hours. On occasion, Judge Kitty can be found presiding over the vacant courtroom in one of the judge's chairs.