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Oh, That Smell! Courthouse Stench Causing Stink in Hannibal

A view of Hannibal on a sleepy fall day, as seen from Cardiff Hill.
KBIA / Davis Dunavin
A view of Hannibal on a sleepy fall day, as seen from Cardiff Hill.

Visitors to the Marion County Courthouse in Hannibal are asking: What's that smell?

The Hannibal Courier-Post reports that a foul odor has permeated the courthouse recently, something akin to a dead animal, but no animal has been found.

Commissioners believe the smell may be decaying remains of pigeons that got into the building about a month ago through a broken window in the rotunda. Workers shooed out the pigeons at the time and replaced the window, but Presiding Commissioner Lyndon Bode says some of the pigeons may have been hidden from view and later died.

Officials have been airing out the building in part by leaving windows open, and a restoration company was hired to clean the attic. Business at the court house has continued despite the odor.

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