Shelbyville Courthouse Square Historic District
About this property
The Shelbyville Courthouse Square Historic District is a historic district in Shelbyville, Tennessee, centered on the Bedford County Courthouse Square. The courthouse square was laid out in 1810 as a central block, bounded by four streets and surrounded by a grid of square city blocks of the same size. Merchants and tradesmen located their businesses on the blocks surrounding the courthouse square. Lots with street frontage facing the courthouse initially sold for prices 40 times higher than land near the edge of the town grid. This design, known as the "Shelbyville square" or "Shelbyville plan", was the prototype for numerous other public squares created throughout the 19th century in towns in southern Middle Tennessee, other parts of the southeastern United States, the American Midwest, and Texas. Five different Bedford County courthouse buildings have stood on the courthouse square. The first courthouse was completed in 1810. A new structure replaced it in 1813. That second courthouse was destroyed by a tornado on May 31, 1830. The third courthouse building was completed in 1833 and stood until 1863, when it was burned down (apparently accidentally) by Confederate Army forces occupying Shelbyville. It was replaced in 1873 by the county's fourth courthouse. In 1934, a lynch mob burned down the fourth courthouse after learning that the young African-American man they wanted to hang had been taken from the county jail and transported to another county for his protection. The current courthouse building is Bedford County's fifth courthouse. It is a Classical Revival building designed in 1935 by the Nashville architectural firm of Marr and Holman. Italianate and Romanesque architectural styles predominate among the historic commercial buildings facing the streets around the square. The Gunter Building, built in 1927 on the west side of the square, is designed in the Art Deco style. The historic district was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
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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.
Everything a full report reveals about Shelbyville Courthouse Square Historic District
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Questions about this property
When was Shelbyville Courthouse Square Historic District listed on the National Register?
Shelbyville Courthouse Square Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 27, 1982.
What type of historic resource is Shelbyville Courthouse Square Historic District?
Shelbyville Courthouse Square Historic District is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Shelbyville Courthouse Square Historic District?
The period of significance for Shelbyville Courthouse Square Historic District is recorded as the listed era.
Can I research the history near Shelbyville Courthouse Square Historic District?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Shelbyville Courthouse Square Historic District will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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