Four Courthouses Have Served County In 150 Years

First Built in 1787 at Cost of 'Two Hundred and Four Pounds'

During the one hundred and fifty four years of its existence, Spartanburg county has had four courthouses and the building of each of these courthouses has in some measure reflected the progress of the county. As the county prospered and its population increased from year to year, it became necessary for the erection of larger quarters in which to conduct the affairs of the county government.

Spartanburg county was one of six counties formed in 1785 from the old Ninety-Six District. The contract for the first courthouse was let by the county commissioners on February - 1787, two years after the county was formed, to one Richard Harrison for "two hundred and four pounds." In the contract it was specified that the structure was to be a weather-boarded frame building 20 X 30 feet in dimensions with a roof having a twelve-foot pitch. Near the courthouse the contractor proposed to erect a log jail, pillory, stocks and a "whipping post such as is usual," according to old records. Furthermore, the jail was to be provided with a strong rock base to prevent prisoners from digging out of their cells. These structures were to be erected on the two acres of "public ground"e; which in later years came to be known as the Square, although it was never square in shape.

It was in the year 1825 that plans were underway for the erecting of a new courthouse which was to become Spartanburg county's second. In that year Robert Mills visited the then village of Spartanburg and commented on the handsome new jail of soapstone and granite, and expressed his gratification that plans were under way to replace "the shabby courthouse" with one more suitable. It was in 1832 that Thomas P. Lockwood published a geography of South Carolina and in this publication the courthouse and jail were spoken of as being "at once an ornament to the place, an evidence of the value of the neighboring quarries and of the skill and taste of their architect." This would give evidence that the second courthouse was built of the same materials as the jail.

A search of old records and other historical data does not give an exact description of the second courthouse, yet several descriptive items may be found in the newspapers of 1856, when a third courthouse was erected. The most valuable is the description of the silver plate removed from the cornerstone and redeposited in the new courthouse. This silver plate was seven by five inches in size and had engraved on it three sets of inscriptions. The first read: United States - 1826, and the names of the president - John Quincy Adams and his cabinet followed. The third column was headed: South Carolina, with the names of governor, R.J. Manning and other state officers listed in order. On the middle of the column was the follwing inscription: "Built by act of the Assembly 1825. Cornerstone laid in due form and order at the request of the Spartanburg brethern, of the worshipful Master and Brethern of Lodge No. 43 at Union C.H. on the 13th day of September, in the year of Masonry, 5826, Doct. T.M. Bragg, W. Master."

"Builders: C. Humphreys, Architect: A. Beard, B. Johnson, John Wilbanks, J. Mays, W. Perry, J.J. Fuller, Master Workmen: Thomas Poole, A. Foster, Jesse Cleveland, Commissioners of Public Buildings. William Trimmier, Esq. Deliverer."

Although the cornerstone was laid on September 13, 1856, it appears that the courthouse was not finally finished until 1857. According to an article in the Carolina Spartan of May 15, 1856: "...the old courthouse, which building, after twenty-nine years service is rapidly disappearing under the reckless hand of improvement. Another and more beautiful one will take its place, and doubtless the increased comfort will more than satisfy those who look with regret upon the removal of the old structure."

After the building of the new courthouse was decided upon, the grand jury, in its presentment at the spring term of court in 1856, advised that the old courthouse be kept intact, and that ground for the new one be purchased from the estate of the late James E. Henry, which adjoined the old courthouse. This suggestion of the grand jury was endorsed by the editor of The Spartan, who pointed out how desirable the courtroom on the second floor would be for public gatherings and how useful the rooms downstairs would be for offices and use as a market. No descriptive references to the exterior can be located. An article in The Spartan of July 31, 1856, declares that the work of demolishing the old courthouse "began on May 12 and was completed in three weeks."

According to an article in the Carolina Spartan the contract for the third courthouse was let on April 17, 1856, and the building was completed and occupied on September 3, 1857. The contractor was J.W. Maxwell, and he received as payment the old building and the sum of $13,000. The building was situated on the northeast corner made by Rutherford Road (now Magnolia Street) and the Public Square, and was constructed of brick, with large columns in front. Two flights of wide stone steps led up to the court rooms on the second floor where there was a sort of balcony from which many great speeches were made to the throngs assembled in the square below. Beautiful iron railings guarded these steps, which were probably made by Spartan artisans. The laying of the cornerstone for this building on July 4, 1856, provided a great occasion in the life of Spartanburg county. The familiar picture of Morgan Square, as it looked in the eighties, shows this third courthouse. All old Spartans who remember this courthouse say it was a beautiful building.

The rapid growth of Spartanburg county during the eighties, however, led to a decision to replace the courthouse with a new one, as well as to secure for it more ample space for the various uses to which the grounds about it must be put, such as for hitching, sales day auctions, and the like. The Spartanburg Board of Trade, which was organized in September, 1885, exerted itself to secure the purchase of two of the handsomest places in the city: The residence of the late Simpson Bobo and Judge T.O.P. Vernon. These adjoining places were surrounded by groves of century-old oaks and were conveniently located with reference to the expanding business activities of the city and county.

Thus it was that the building on these two pieces of property were rolled away and the present courthouse was erected in the year of 1892. The building was erected in accordance with the previling taste in architecture of the period, and proved a source of intense pride to the entire county. This soon proved inadequate, however, and an annex was built.