Clay County Courthouse
Fort Gaines Georgia
Although the courthouse at Westville is about two decades older, Clay
County's vernacular brick structure is equally remarkable because it
still serves it's original purpose. Built between 1871 and 1873, less
than a decade after the end of the Civil War, it is only the second
courthouse in the county's history. (The first, a one-room structure
built in 1854, was reused for a time as a schoolhouse before being converted
into the kitchen of a local residence.)
Here too, the name of the designer is unknown. We do know that he was influenced
by the classical architecture of ancient Greece and Rome, because the
building shows strong elements of that tradition with its two-story columned
central portico, colossal corner pilasters, and low-pitched roof. Perhaps
he drew inspiration from the Greek Revival style, an approach modeled
on the temples of ancient Greece that was popular before the Civil War,
especially in the South. The Greek Revival was considered to be an appropriate
style for America in its youth because it, like Greece, was a democracy.
The style did not survive the war, however, so it is unusual to see elements
of it applied to a building constructed in the 1870s.
Southwest Quarter Chattahoochee Regional
Chamber of Commerce
P.O. Box 31
Cuthbert, Georgia 31740
(912) 732-2683
Directions
From U.S. 27 southbound in Clay County, turn right (west) onto Ga. 37
and go 12 miles to Fort Gaines. Turn right on Washington Street:
The courthouse is on the right.