County Courthouse
James Adams built the country’s first courthouse – out of logs – in 1796 at present-day Washington Street and Riverside Dr. A second courthouse was built in 1805, and a year later the Tennessee Legislature ordered that a third courthouse be built. Henry Small provided the county with the land for the third one. In 1811, the fourth courthouse – the first to be made of brick – was built on the east half of Public Square. Martin Armstrong donated land for the building. In 1843, a courthouse was built in the north side of Franklin Street. It, along with 15 acres of the downtown business district, was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1878, on April 13. The corner-stone of the current courthouse, between Second and Third Streets, was laid on May 16, 1879. The building was designed by George W. Bunting of Indianapolis. Five years later, the first of several disasters struck the building when a tornado touched down and damaged the roof. The building was rebuilt. A fire on March 12, 1900, gutted the courthouse’s upper floors and destroyed the clock tower. Afterwards, many citizens wanted to tear the edifice down and replace it with a safer, more modern structure. Judge C.W. Tyler refused, and the courthouse was repaired using insurance proceeds. Almost a century later, on Jan. 22, 1999, the courthouse was once again severely damaged in a tornado. Like they had in 1900, county officials grappled with what should be done about the building. As they did in 1900, they decided to rebuild the courthouse and maintain its 1879 design. On Jan. 22, 2003, the building was rededicated as a county office building. A new Courts Center was built behind the historic building to serve the county’s growing judicial needs. |
