Demolition of the old Ottawa County, OK Courthouse in Miami began Monday amid clouds of smoke and debris.

Newly appointed County Commission Chairman John Clarke said a crew from DT Specialized Services in Tulsa began the demolition today and plans to complete the project in two weeks. The old courthouse is being torn down to make room for a parking lot near the new courthouse.

The commissioners in late January awarded a contract to the Tulsa company for $68,055.

Crews on Monday worked with three excavators, including one that has a 50-foot boom and crushing jaws, Clarke said.

The 1916 courthouse sits between the new courthouse and the Sheriff’s Department.

“They’re working in pretty tight quarters,” Clarke said. “They are working a little slow.”

Metal from the building will be hauled to the demolition company’s Tulsa yard and prepared for recycling, he said. The remainder of the debris will be taken to a pit south of Miami. Once the debris is buried, Clarke said, the site will be restored to vegetation.

The commissioners kept some of the old courthouse’s marble tile flooring for placement in the memorial garden on the northwest corner of the new courthouse. That memorial honors county residents who died while fighting with the U.S. armed forces.

The county grossed $15,000 from a Jan. 10 auction of furniture, doors, marble fixtures and other items that were inside the old courthouse.