Demolition of the former Agent & Mallory-Martin Funeral Home, located at the corner of Chickasaw Avenue and Elm Street adjacent to the Sequoyah County Courthouse, began on Nov. 20, clearing the way for the construction of a new courthouse annex.

The first “bite” of the mostly wooden structure came at 7:52 a.m. when an excavator tore into the awning on the facility’s southeast corner. Thirty-five minutes later, the front facade of the former Emergency Management office came crashing down. In just over four hours later during the noon hour, the building was a pile of rubble. Several onlookers observed that buildings come down a lot faster than they go up.

County crews were removing office furniture from the building as late as seven minutes prior to when the first gash was cut. Debris from the building will be trucked away during the remainder of the week.

As county employees watched the building topple, there were poignant comments shared by many — “How sad,” “It’s kind of therapeutic,” “It was always a calming, peaceful place to go” and “Imagine how many people have said good-bye to their loved ones there.”

The county has owned the building since 2012. Prior to Agent & Mallory-Martin moving to its new building, there had been a funeral home at the southeast corner of the city’s center since 1936. A hotel originally operated at the site since the early 1900s.