Courthouse History

In act of Dec. 10, 1807, the General Assembly provided that the house of Willis Anderson serve as temporary the courthouse of Wilkinson County until a courthouse could be built (Ga. Laws 1807, p. 3).

In 1809, the legislature named Stephen Johnson, John Eady, Sr., Elkanah Lofton, Philip Pitman, and William Crawley as commissioners to select a county seat, purchase land, sudivide it into town lots, sell the lots, and use the proceeds to construct a courthouse and jail (Ga. Laws 1809, p. 75). Apparently nothing happed, so two years later the legislature named John Proctor, Robert Barnett, John Speight, John Ball, and Daniel Hicks as commissioners to construct a courthouse and jail (Ga. Laws 1811, p. 123). Until this was done, the legislation directed that a temporary courthouse be built on land lot 83 in the 4th district.

By 1817, Wilkinson County apparently had a courthouse, for the legislature designated the town boundaries of Irwinton as all areas falling within 400 yards of the courthouse (Ga. Laws 1817, p. 65).

In 1818, the General Assembly authorized a special tax to be levied in Wilkinson County for the purpose of building a courthouse (Ga. Laws 1818, p. 25). It is not clear whether a new courthouse was built utilizing this tax. A courthouse built in 1829 burned down that same year.

At some date, a new courthouse was built — but in 1854 it too was destroyed by fire. A new courthouse built before the Civil War was burned by Sherman’s troops in 1864. At an unknown date, another courthouse was built–but it burned in 1924, with the present courthouse built in its place the same year.

The 1924 courthouse was built in the Colonial Revival style of architecture. It was designed by Alexandar Blair. The courthouse Annex was built in 1974. More additions and renovations were completed in 2006. These final renovations were designed by Rob Brown.