Crawford County Courthouse (Knoxville, Georgia)

Crawford County Courthouse

Crawford County Courthouse (June 21, 1938)
Location U.S. 80, Knoxville, Georgia
Coordinates 32°43′28″N 83°59′53″W / 32.72444°N 83.99806°W / 32.72444; -83.99806Coordinates: 32°43′28″N 83°59′53″W / 32.72444°N 83.99806°W / 32.72444; -83.99806
Area less than one acre
Built 1832
Architect Henry Crews
Architectural style Vernacular (Greek Revival influence)
MPS Georgia County Courthouses TR
NRHP Reference #

80001008

[1]
Added to NRHP September 18, 1980

The Crawford County Courthouse in Knoxville, Georgia served as the Crawford County courthouse from 1832 to 2001. For years before it went out of service, the courthouse was the oldest courthouse still in use in Georgia. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[1]

History

Old and new pictures of the courthouse taken from various sources, seen at the Old Knoxville Days on May 19, 2012.
The new courthouse.

In an act of December 23, 1822, the legislature authorized Crawford County's initial inferior court to select a site to serve as county seat and provide for construction of a courthouse with a provision that such site "be as near the center of the county as convenience will admit" (Ga. Laws 1822, p. 23). The same act provided that until a courthouse could be built, Crawford County courts and elections would be held at the house of Imlay Vansciver. In Dec. 1823, the legislature designated Knoxville as the county seat. At some point thereafter, Crawford County's first courthouse was built. That structure burned down in 1829 or 1830. The following year, construction of a new courthouse began. The new building was completed in January 1832. Since then, there have been numerous repairs and remodeling, with extensive interior renovations and construction of a small addition in the late 1960s. Around 1890, a new railroad was built through the middle of Crawford County following a north-south route. For whatever reason, the railroad's path came near, but skipped, the county seat of Knoxville. The historic structure may become the home of the Crawford County Historical Society.

A new courthouse

In 2001-02, a new courthouse was built one block behind the old courthouse. The reason the new courthouse was built is because the old one was placed on the NRHP, which means no renovations or additions can be made to it, such as an elevator to the courtroom upstairs. A disabled person couldn't get to the second-story courtroom without an elevator, so the new one-story courthouse was built. The new courthouse has a clock tower on top of it, which sunk into the roof shortly after completion, causing major damage. It has since been fixed, but some local residents of Knoxville are still weary of it.[2]

Today

Today the courthouse serves as a museum for the annual Jug Fest held in Knoxville. It only opens to the public that day. The flag that flies outside of the courthouse is derived from the Lone star flag, the Texas state flag.[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ "Counties". georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu.
  3. ↑ "Counties". georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu.
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