Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

Anderson County’s most iconic structure is celebrating its 125th birthday Tuesday.

The historic courthouse downtown, the county’s most photogenic (and photographed) building, was dedicated on June 27, 1898, with a celebration of the new county-seat facility which included elaborate fireworks and a procession of officials from the Hotel Chiquola.

“The fullness of time came and out past chagrin at the appearance of the old gives way before our joy and admiration of this beautiful temple of justice which stands a thing of beauty and joy forever,” said J.L. Tribble, chairman of the committee on arrangements of the courthouse at the 1898 ceremony.

“You have a building of which you may all be justly proud. It is modern - and it has no mortgage on it - tasteful and attractive, beautiful for symmetry, built out of first-class materials from the first brick to the final one that crowns the tower. It is of that style of architecture somewhat of the composite order - Americanized,” said Tribble.

The new structure replaced the white brick building which served as the original courthouse and was torn down in 1897 after citizens approved a referendum by a vote of 850-617 to demolish the original courthouse. The clock face and bell in the tower were saved from and are still used in the historic courthouse.

The Original Courthouse

In 1827, when commissioners of the new Anderson County were charged with choosing a site for a courthouse, the original choices were in the area of the current Whitehall Road not far from the present-day Pruitt Shopping Center, and property near where Orr-Lyons Mill would be located.

After stopping for refreshments at “French's Store,” just off the old “Generals’ Road” which ran along what is now Anderson's Main Street, the group walked a short distance a spring beside the tavern where Commissioner Robert B. Norris reportedly planted his heavy walking stick under a towering walnut tree and exclaimed: “There shall be the southeast corner of the courthouse, and who says ‘no’ has got me to whip!'

Apparently, no one was in the mood to try to whip Norris that day, and the commissioners bought 130 acres for $601.25 and planned the town of Anderson around a square for business with three blocks in each direction within. With the four boundary streets, they believed this would give the new town plenty of room for growth.

The brick courthouse, centered in the public square, was dedicated almost 200 years ago in 1828. The exterior of the brick structure was plastered in 1851, and in 1852 a portico with four large columns was added to each end along with a belfry and bell to the western end at a cost of $2,500 in 1856, which was used mark the time, to notify citizens of special events, or to sound fire alarms. A clock was placed in its bell tower in 1877.

The original courthouse was demolished in 1897 and the “new” courthouse was erected on the same site in 1898.

Changes in the 1898 Courthouse Over Time

The courthouse originally included fireplaces in every office, but in 1902 after a near-miss fire, stoves were installed. In 1920 a steam heating radiator system replaced the stoves.

The building might have been demolished in 1937, when a courthouse building commission proposed erecting a new courthouse, but in less than a year, the building was instead renovated again to include additions to the east side of the structure. Other cosmetic additions were added in 1940, giving the courthouse the familiar look of today.

When the court proceedings were moved to the county courthouse built directly across the street in 1991, county council provided a $1 million bond to update the historic structure’s electrical and plumbing systems, and provide roofing and other repairs.

The historic courthouse currently houses administrative offices of Anderson County government, and is the site of county council meetings on the first and third Tuesdays of each month, as well as other committee meetings.

Looking Ahead

Anderson County council last week passed a new budget which includes more than $7 million for critical repairs to the historic courthouse, which has seen little serious attention over the last three decades. Repairs to the roof, which include custom tiles, shoring up the brick structure, and other critical repairs are needed to assure the future of the building that has become the symbol of Anderson County.

Next up will likely be the replacement of the aging elevator in the building, but nothing official has been announced on that project.

Anderson County is now owner of the original property that made up the county in 1827 for the first time in more than a century, and the historic courthouse sits high in the center of that property, a reminder of the past and future.

Historic Courthouse Quietly Celebrates 125 Years of Service

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