Historic Courthouses of Georgia: Part One

Timing is everything!  Though we've talked about this project off and on for many years, we had never started it.  Until now.

We were in the perfect place to launch this #georgiabucketlist project:  the northwestern-most county of the state.

Initially, Jamie had wanted to tackle this challenge during his thirty-year career as a State Trooper by having his picture taken in uniform on the steps of every courthouse in Georgia.  But that was before the ease of cell phone cameras for selfies, and when life was busier, filled with kids' activities and his fast-paced travel from one end of the state to the other week after week, leaving little time to do anything extra.

Not only did we get started with a photograph of the historic Dade County Courthouse, and its newer counterpart, but also we captured those of ten additional counties on Georgia's western border.  That leaves just six more western border counties!  We are well on our way with this project, having photographed 11 of 159 in our first round.

And, yes, we are well aware that at least two others have published books of photographs of all 159 county courthouses.  We have them.

This is our challenge:  to visit every county seat and to capture a professional quality image of each historic courthouse.  What we decide to do with the images in the long run, only time will tell.  For now, we're sharing with you.  As we gather more research on each structure, we will edit our posts; this will be a work in progress for a quite a while.

Historic Dade County Courthouse located in Trenton, Georgia

Built in 1926, the historic Dade County Courthouse was constructed in the Carpenter Style.  The structure is situated in a town square with traffic flowing in a roundabout pattern.  A memorial park with garden area is situated on the western side across the street.

The new Dade County Court Facility

Walker County Courthouse in LaFayette, Georgia 

Built in 1917, the Walker County Courthouse was designed by architect Charles E. Bearden in the Beaux Arts/Renaissance Revival style.  The three-story structure features a cream colored brick exterior enhanced with six pairs of columns and triplicate windows.

Chattooga County Courthouse in Summerville, Georgia

Floral baskets hanging from light posts provide a warm summer welcome to this well-kept town.  An example of neoclassical architecture, the Chattooga County Courthouse was built in 1909.  A renovated depot and a train engine turntable are within walking distance.

Historic Floyd County Courthouse in Rome, Georgia

Polk County Courthouse in Cedartown, Georgia

The grounds of the Polk County Courthouse feature a sports walk of fame featuring local athletic standouts.  The Neoclassical style Courthouse #2 is adjacent to this structure; it was formerly the Cedartown City Hall.

Historic Haralson County Courthouse in Buchanan, Georgia

Historic Haralson County Courthouse in Buchanan, Georgia

Haralson County built a modern facility in the 1970s about a mile away from this site, but the historic landmark courthouse still stands on the town square.  Currently, the local library is housed here.

 Historic Carroll County Courthouse in Carrollton, Georgia

Carroll County Courthouse, circa 2012

Carroll County's Italian Renaissance style courthouse was built in 1928 following a fire that destroyed its previous building.  In 2012 the county added a five story, 125,000 square foot facility adjacent to the 1928 building.

Heard County Courthouse in Franklin, Georgia 

The Heard County Courthouse is currently undergoing renovation.

Troup County Courthouse in LaGrange, Georgia

Glance quickly at this courthouse and you may think you're looking at the Mitchell County Courthouse.  This is the Troup County Courthouse, constructed in 1939 in stripped classical style.  Although the county has constructed larger, newer facilities adjacent to this building, this building continues to function as a courthouse for juveniles.

 Chattahoochee County Courthouse in Cusseta, Georgia

This modern facility houses the courts of Chattahoochee County in Cusseta.  The Old Chattahoochee Courthouse (not pictured) was built in 1854 and was moved to the Westville outdoor museum in Lumpkin.  Westville is no longer operational and the buildings there are slated to move to Columbus.  

Historic Terrell County Courthouse in Dawson, Georgia

Built in 1892 and restored in 2009, the Victorian style Terrell County Courthouse claims to be the tallest historic courthouse in the state.   Superior Court is housed here; other government functions are housed in a separate location.

Checking Off a Bucket List Item: Cloudland Canyon

Checked off a #georgiabucketlist item this weekend!  Cloudland Canyon State Park has been on our "must do" list for a while, but the distance had prevented us from getting there sooner.  At a little over 300 miles from home, this trip required leaving midday on Friday to get into the campground before dark and before all the sites were filled.  We were lucky to have booked a site at all; earlier in the week, there were only two available on the reservation site.

Evening rays light the rock stairway leading to the Main Overlook at Cloudland Canyon State Park.

Fortunately, we arrived shortly after 6:00 PM to find that our "late arrival" tag was posted on the bulletin board outside of the park office; we snagged a park map from the information box. Proceeding to the West Rim Campground, we found a couple of empty sites.  We settled into #30, which offered plenty of length to accommodate our SolAire and the truck.  This site also featured a fire ring encircled by sit-upon boulders.  The West Rim sites are heavily shaded, a real plus in hot weather.

After a quick setup, made easy because the site was level - thank you, Georgia State Parks -, we set off to the Main Overlook on the East Rim to catch the sunset.  I was thrilled with the results of my photo shoot.

From the Main Overlook, looking northward

Rocky terrain on the hike to the Main Overlook is lit by the evening sun.

Sunset streaming through the trees

Boulders in the forest along the path to the Main Overlook

Sunset peeking through the trees

Saturday morning we headed to another area of the park, where we hiked down to the Meadowlands to view an open space and the fish pond.  Regrettably, this area was not as scenic as we had hoped.  Driving through the park, we spotted two large deer darting across the road ahead and a turtle inching his way toward the ditch.

There are two waterfalls in the park. Trails that include 600 steel-grated steps lead to them.  Having viewed them from the overlook, we opted to forego the waterfall hikes.  600 down and 600 up was more of an undertaking than either of wanted to tackle in the heat.  An autumn trip is definitely in the works.

We ventured outside the park, as well, making our way into Trenton and Rising Fawn.  Not only did Jamie find me some photogenic scenes on a gravel mountain road "somewhere" in Dade County, but he also found us some lunch at the South Dade Fire and Rescue BBQ in Rising Fawn.

While traveling along the gravel Newsome Gap Road, we crossed Gulf Creek.

Gulf Creek

Never know what wildlife we'll spot!

Orange:  butterflies and flowers in the forest

Of course, this lumberjack had an ax in his truck for just such occasions as this.

A trickle of water in the forest along Newsome Gap Road

A view near Rising Fawn

Looking across a field to a house on the hill with a mountain ridge in the background.

Never fear, we will find a fire department!  BBQ was a perfect lunch for this outing.  Always happy to support a local cause.

In addition, while we were in Trenton, Jamie reminded me of his long-held ambition to visit every county seat in the state; he mentioned this several times while he was a State Trooper, suggesting that he wanted his photo taken in uniform at every Courthouse.  Thirty years of service, but that didn't happen.  So, we started in the northwestern-most county of Georgia on Saturday and began photographing the county courthouses.  Of course, this will be a years-long project, but we got started!  One done; 158 to go.

The historic Dade County Courthouse, located in the Trenton town square, appears to have been abandoned in favor of  a newly constructed one a few blocks away.

Our Sunday drive home allowed us ample time to stop in the county seats of Walker, Chattooga, Floyd, Polk, Haralson, Carroll, Heard, Troup, Chattahoochee and Terrell.  Ten more.  That's 11/159.