In 2000 the Livingston County Board of Supervisors approved US$77,000 in renovations for the courthouse, which included exterior painting work and security improvement.

In February 2002, the Livingston County Board of Supervisors agreed to allow the statue to be built on the front lawn of the courthouse.

The fund raising campaign had its inaugural event on April 5, 2002, with a speech at the State University of New York at Geneseo by Pulitzer Prize winner and Civil War historian James M. McPherson.

[4] Writing in Rochester History published by the Rochester Public Library, Erville Costa comments: "The Livingston County Courthouse, which they built in 1898, reflects Bragdon's conviction at the time that colonial architecture was a more honest expression of a truly national spirit than either the eclectic or Richardsonian architecture which dominated the scene.

[11][12] In February 2002 the Livingston County Board of Supervisors agreed to allow the statue to be built in front of the courthouse, at the northern end of Main Street.

[11] "It seems like it's in line with the historic nature of the courthouse and the history of the region," said County Administrator Nick Mazza in a statement in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.