The U.S. state of Georgia is divided into 159 counties, more than any other state except for Texas, which has 254 counties. In Georgia, county seats typically have a courthouse at a town square. Courthouses in Georgia have been replaced for a variety of reasons. Courthouses have typically been replaced over time due to natural wear on courthouses, being destroyed in the Civil War, or communities outgrowing their current courthouse. When county seats have been moved, a new courthouse was typically constructed. Courthouses in Georgia have also been destroyed by disasters including fire, tornadoes, war, and arson. The most recent county courthouse to suffer a disaster was the burning of Hancock County, Georgia's courthouse in August 2014.
History
The architectural style of courthouses in Georgia has varied over time and from region to region.
Antebellum
It was common for the first courthouse of a county on the frontier to be a log cabin type structure. Houses being repurposed for county courthouses was not an uncommon method for a county acquiring a courthouse. Courthouses often doubled as churches and schools before the 1900s. During Georgia's colonial period the area was subdivided into parishes. Some parishes did have the equivalent of county courthouses. No county courthouses in Georgia from the 1700s currently survive.[1]
By the mid-1800s it became common for courthouses to still be made of wood, but out of wood that had been processed into boards instead of unhewed logs. The Old Marion County Courthouse in Tazewell, Georgia and the Old Chattahoochee County Courthouse are only two surviving wooden courthouses in Georgia. Neither are currently in use as a courthouse. County seats of areas with larger populations often built courthouses made out of bricks before counties from more rural areas. Vernacular architecture was a common style. Greek Revival was another common pre-Civil War architectural style for county courthouses.[2]
By the late 1800s, brick courthouses were more common than they had been earlier in the century. Many courthouses were being constructed in styles more elaborate than the typical vernacular architecture, which had previously been common. Neoclassical, Italianate, and Romanesque were the most common architectural styles of county courthouses during the late 1800s.
High Victorian Gothic and Second Empire were also common.[5]
After World War II, Neoclassical architecture had been surpassed by Modern architecture as the top style for new courthouses. When modern architecture was not used as the style of a new courthouse, it was often due to an attempt to replicate the appearance of a previous. By the 1980s, many counties began to replace their historic courthouses with judicial complexes. Most offices would be transferred to the new building, but some would remain in the old courthouses.[7]
Surviving original county courthouses
It is uncommon for counties to still have their original courthouse. The surviving county courthouses that were their county's first courthouse are:[8]
A county still having their previous county courthouse in existence is not uncommon. Many previous county courthouses have been repurposed as museums. It is rare for a county to have more than one previous county courthouse still in existence, or to have a courthouse still in existence other than the one immediately preceding their current one. The Old Bartow County Courthouse, 1869 Clayton County Courthouse, Floyd County Courthouse, and the Old Spalding County Courthouse are examples of such courthouses. The only surviving courthouse from a town that is not the current county seat is the Old Marion County Courthouse in Tazewell, Georgia.[9]
Oldest courthouses
The ten oldest of Georgia's county courthouses still in existence are:[10]
Renovated following the flooding of the Flint River in 1925, 1929, and 1994. A temporary courthouse was used for six years following the 1994 flood. Currently used as a public library, and as the Baker County Historical Society. NRHP-listed (refnum 80004443). The courthouse was damaged during Hurricane Michael in October 2018.[14]
Various structures served as a courthouse during the Trustee Period.
1750s
Savannah
1773
Savannah
Construction started 1765. 34 x 60-foot red brick building facing Wright Square Used as a British barracks during the American Revolution. Interior destroyed by fire in 1796.
Partially burned on 21 January 1922. Restored by the WPA in 1940. Remodelled and modernized in 1956–1957. Renovated from 1998–2001 to pre-1950s exterior. NRHP-listed (refnum 80001003).
Remodelled in 1965 into a three-story building. A fire set by an arsonist destroyed the third floor on 11 April 1981.[31] Restored in 1985. NRHP-listed (refnum 80001020).
Still in existence. Moved a few blocks away from its original location in the 1890s to make room for the construction of the Federal Courthouse. Tower added after move.
From 1806 to 1816, several private residences served as the county courthouse. In 1816, the former Georgia State Capitol in Louisville was purchased for use as the county courthouse.
Some sources say that the first courthouse was built on the Salem Road near present-day Lexington and then moved to Lexington when it became the county seat in 1806.
Richmond County purchased a preexisting building in 1785 to house multiple government-related facilities. The building doubled as the meeting place for the Georgia General Assembly.
The building served as both Augusta City Hall and Richmond County Courthouse. Became a private residence in 1821. Still in existence. NRHP-listed (refnum 78001004).
The county seat of Wayne County changed every few years for several decades and it is uncertain what was used before 1860. Built in the woods northwest of Waynesville.
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