Wilkes County Courthouse

About this property

The Wilkes County Courthouse is a historic government building and clock tower located in the city of Washington, Georgia, the seat of Wilkes County. The latest in a series of courthouses in the county's history, the current building was completed in 1904 and since that date has been the official home of Wilkes County's Superior Court, and the base of the county's government. On September 18, 1980, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Wilkes County, Georgia is one of the eight original counties created by Georgia's first state constitution on February 5, 1777, and the only county then not previously colonized or settled. A wilderness frontier with a handful of newcomers, Wilkes County was devoid of infrastructure. When the pioneers of Wilkes convened their first court on August 25, 1779, it was held in a private residence, the first of many transient venues during the county's infancy. In 1780, the Georgia Legislature called for the establishment of the town of Washington. With the town to serve as a seat of government, court proceedings could be given a dedicated, regular venue. Wilkes County Court found its first permanent venue in a room at the local tavern, which effectively served as official courtroom until 1785. The tavern occupied part of the same lot where currently stands today's courthouse. By 1785, a new, independent building constructed of logs became Wilkes County's first genuine courthouse. According to a plaque on the present courthouse lawn, the log courthouse was replaced after only a year by a clapboard-style courthouse, which served the county from 1786 to 1804. Both the log and clapboard courthouses stood in what is today the public square in Washington. The next building had two stories and was originally the residence of Italian immigrant and U.S. patriot, Major Ferdinand Phinizy, who sold the house to Wilkes County Commissioners. Courthouse number three served the county between 1804 and 1817. A Federal-style, brick structure in 1817 became Wilkes county's next courthouse and the first in Georgia to feature a clock tower. This most recent among Wilkes' former courthouses stood in the center of Washington's public square and served the county until 1904, when it was replaced by the current courthouse, then demolished. Washington in the 1890s was rife with rumors regarding railroad development and potential prosperity for Wilkes County. This fueled a push for civic projects and improvements by which the community hoped to more strongly lure railroad investment. The replacement of the 1817 courthouse soon became one such project, and before the century was out, County Commissioners had purchased the lot across from their existing courthouse, where in a few years they would build its replacement.

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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