Washington County Courthouse (Mississippi)

	Washington County Courthouse
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	Washington County Courthouse in 2018
Location	900 Washington Avenue, Greenville, Mississippi, U.S.
Coordinates	33°24′27.7″N91°03′10″W / 33.407694°N 91.05278°W Coordinates: 33°24′27.7″N91°03′10″W / 33.407694°N 91.05278°W
Area	4 acres (1.6 ha)
Built	1891
Built by	John F. Barnes
Architect	McDonald Brothers
Architectural style	Richardsonian Romanesque
NRHP reference #	14000570 [1]
Added to NRHP	September 10, 2014

Last updated April 22, 2019

The Washington County Courthouse is a historic courthouse in Greenville, Mississippi. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since September 10, 2014.^[1]

A courthouse is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-speaking countries, buildings which house courts of law are simply called "courts" or "court buildings". In most of Continental Europe and former non-English-speaking European colonies, the equivalent term is a palace of justice.

Greenville, Mississippi City in Mississippi, United States

Greenville is a city in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 34,400 at the 2010 census. It is located in the area of historic cotton plantations and culture known as the Mississippi Delta.

National Register of Historic Places federal list of historic sites in the United States

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred preserving the property.

History

The first courthouse in Greenville was built when the new town became the county seat in 1847. The town was moved northward due to recurring flooding and damage caused during the Civial War. A new courthouse was built near the corner of Poplar and Nelson Streets. That building was replaced by the current two and a half-story building, constructed in 1891 and opened in 1892. It was modified in 1930, 1950, 1965 and 1976, tripling its original size. It is one of the few remaining examples of a stone Richardsonian Romanesque courthouse in Mississippi.^[2]

American Civil War Civil war in the United States from 1861 to 1865

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865, between the North and the South. The most studied and written about episode in U.S. history, the Civil War began primarily as a result of the long-standing controversy over the enslavement of black people. War broke out in April 1861 when secessionist forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina shortly after Abraham Lincoln had been inaugurated as the President of the United States. The loyalists of the Union in the North proclaimed support for the Constitution. They faced secessionists of the Confederate States in the South, who advocated for states' rights to uphold slavery.

Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886), whose masterpiece is Trinity Church, Boston (1872–1877), designated a National Historic Landmark. Richardson first used elements of the style in his Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane in Buffalo, New York, designed in 1870.

The courthouse is noted as the location of a 1922 speech by former United States Senator LeRoy Percy against the expansion of the Ku Klux Klan into Washington County.^[2]

LeRoy Percy was an attorney, planter and politician in Mississippi. In 1910 he was elected by the Mississippi state legislature to the United States Senate, serving until 1913.

Ku Klux Klan American white supremacy group

The Ku Klux Klan, commonly called the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist hate group. The Klan has existed in three distinct eras at different points in time during the history of the United States. Each has advocated extremist reactionary positions such as white nationalism, anti-immigration and—especially in later iterations—Nordicism and anti-Catholicism. Historically, the Klan used terrorism—both physical assault and murder—against groups or individuals whom they opposed. All three movements have called for the "purification" of American society and all are considered right-wing extremist organizations. In each era, membership was secret and estimates of the total were highly exaggerated by both friends and enemies.

Related Research Articles

Greenville is an incorporated town in Floyd County, Indiana. The population was estimated by the Census Bureau to be 807 in 2016 at the 2010 census. Greenville is located in the greater Louisville metropolitan area.

Washington, commonly known as The Original Washington or Little Washington, is a city in Beaufort County, North Carolina, United States, located on the northern bank of the Pamlico River. The population was 9,744 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Beaufort County. The closest major city is Greenville, approximately 20 miles (32 km) to the west.

Washington County Courthouse may refer to:

James Riely Gordon was an architect who practiced in San Antonio until 1902 and then in New York City, where he established a national reputation. J. Riely Gordon is best known for his landmark county courthouses, in particular those in Texas. Working during the state's "Golden Age" (1883–1898) of courthouse construction, Gordon saw 18 of his designs erected from 1885 to 1901; today 12 remain.

The Darke County Courthouse, Sheriff's House and Jail are three historic buildings located at 504 South Broadway just south of West 4th Street in Greenville, Ohio. On December 12, 1976, the three buildings of the present courthouse complex were added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The Lawrence County Courthouse is a government building for Lawrence County, Mississippi, United States, located in the county seat of Monticello. It was built in 1913 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 4, 1993. It was declared a Mississippi Landmark in 1986.

Mifflin Emlen Bell, often known as M.E. Bell, was an American architect who served from 1883 to 1886 as Supervising Architect of the US Treasury Department. Bell delegated design responsibilities to staff members, which resulted in a large variety of building styles, including Second Empire, Châteauesque, Queen Anne and Richardsonian Romanesque.

The Old Greenville City Hall, is a former building in Greenville, South Carolina. It was originally built as the U.S. Courthouse and Post Office in 1889 on the corner of Main and Broad Streets. After 1938, it was transferred to the City of Greenville and used as its city hall. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places on August 19, 1971. After its demolition in 1972 or 1973, it was removed from the National Register in 1973.

The Washington County Courthouse in Washington, Iowa, United States, was built in 1887. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 as a part of the County Courthouses in Iowa Thematic Resource. In 2013 it was included as a contributing property in the Washington Downtown Historic District. The courthouse is the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration.

Van Buren County Courthouse (Iowa) courthouse in Iowa

The Van Buren County Courthouse located in Keosauqua, Iowa, United States, was built in 1843. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 as a part of the County Courthouses in Iowa Thematic Resource. It is the only building the county has used as its courthouse, and it is the oldest courthouse in Iowa. In 1845 the courthouse served as the location for a trial resulting in the first death penalty in Iowa history.

The Mitchell County Courthouse in Osage, Iowa, United States, was built in 2015. The former courthouse, built in stages between 1858 and 1926, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 as a part of the County Courthouses in Iowa Thematic Resource. The courthouse is the second building the county has used for court functions and county administration.

Greenville County Courthouse, also known as Greenville Family Courts Building, is a historic courthouse located at Greenville, South Carolina. It was built in 1918, and is a Beaux-Arts style brick and concrete building with terra cotta trim. The building consists of a three-story front section, with an eight-story tower behind. The building served as the courthouse for Greenville County until 1950 when the court was moved to a new building. The Family Court of Greenville County was located then in the building and remained there until 1991.

The Passaic County Court House complex is located at the seat of Passaic County, New Jersey in Paterson.

The First National Bank of Greenville is a historic building in Greenville, Mississippi.

The Bank of Washington is a historic building in Greenville, Mississippi, USA.

References

1 2 "Weekly list of actions taken on properties:9/08/14 Through 9/12/14". National Park Service. September 19, 2014. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
1 2 William M. Gatlin (June 30, 2014). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Washington County Courthouse" (PDF). Mississippi Department of Archives and History . Retrieved October 5, 2015.

This Mississippi-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[weekly-1] 1 2 "Weekly list of actions taken on properties:9/08/14 Through 9/12/14". National Park Service. September 19, 2014. Retrieved October 5, 2015.

[nom-2] 1 2 William M. Gatlin (June 30, 2014). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Washington County Courthouse" (PDF). Mississippi Department of Archives and History . Retrieved October 5, 2015.