County Courthouse Complete in 1881

Last week Picturing the Past covered the selection and laying out of a site for the town to serve as the seat of the newly created County of Transylvania in 1861.  One of the first tasks for county officials was the building of a courthouse.  Traditionally a county courthouse is viewed as the center of power and law as well the center of community activity. 

Community leaders wanted to reflect the importance of the courthouse through its design and construction.  At the first meeting of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions in May 1861 William Deaver, Benjamin Akins, and Jeremiah Osborn were appointed as the Building Committee for a “good court house and county jail, both to be built out of brick.”

The new county and town had been created just as the Civil War was beginning and it does not appear that a building was constructed specifically as a courthouse until after the war.  Later minutes call for “a two story court house built in the town of Brevard in said county to be a wood frame building and under the direction of a Building Committee and also a good and substantial jail be put under contract immediately.” 

In January 1866 lumber was acquire for the construction of a temporary courthouse.  In August the contractors where paid $400 and in September George Clayton & Co. Contractor were paid an additional $50 for work on it.  Joshua Orr was paid $12 to build four window shutters and Lankford receive $75.35 for furnishing hardware for the court house.

This early postcard, published by T.B. Allison, shows the architectural
details on the courthouse in its early days.

In 1874 commissioners approved a tax be levied to appropriate $12,000 for the building of a new courthouse and jail. Transylvania County finally completed its long desired brick courthouse in the county seat of Brevard in 1881.

The two-story brick building is Italianate Victorian in style.  The main facade has a dominate three-story tower topped with a concave mansard roof.  Originally there were stars in cut-outs on each side of the roof.  The courthouse has unusual paired loopholes rather than windows on the front of the first floor.  A belt course creates a visual break between the first and second story. 

Over the next several week’s Picturing the Past will continue the story of Brevard’s development through the years.  The January 16, 2018 Bag Lunch program at the Library will showcase the evolution and growth of downtown Brevard through photographs.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library.  Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional photographs.  For more information, comments, or suggestions contact Marcy at marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-1820.