- Collection:
- Georgia County Courthouses
- Title:
- Campbell County Courthouse
- Creator:
- Jackson, Edwin L.
- Date of Original:
- 1871
- Subject:
- Courthouses--Georgia--Campbell County
Courthouses--Georgia--Fairburn - Location:
- United States, Georgia, Fulton County, 33.79025, -84.46702
United States, Georgia, Fulton County, Fairburn, 33.56706, -84.58104 - Medium:
- photographs
- Type:
- Still Image
- Format:
- image/jpeg
- Description:
- Architecture Style: Vernacular (Greek Revival and Italianate Influences)
Seat Information: The Dec. 20, 1828 legislation creating Campbell County did not designate a county seat. Rather, it provided that superior and inferior courts and county elections be held at the house of John S. Beavers until such time that the justices of the county's inferior court were elected and decided on a permanent site for the county seat. At some point in the late 1820s, a settlement named Campbellton was begun on the banks of the Chattahoochee River on land owned by Frank Irwin. Apparently, he sold one or more land lots to the county in 1829 for use as a county seat, with the new town named Campbellton in honor of Col. Duncan Campbell. In an act of Dec. 3, 1829, the legislature officially designated Campbellton as county seat of Campbell County (Ga. Laws 1829, p. 189). In 1853, the Atlanta & LaGrange Railroad (later renamed Atlanta & West Point Railroad) was completed. The railroad traveled through Campbell County, bypassing Campbellton by nine miles to the southeast. Here, a rail station was built at Fairburn, a small community settled around 1830 and originally known as Barrysville. [Fairburn is believed to have been named for the English town of Fairburn, located in York County.] On Feb. 17, 1854, the General Assembly incorporated Fairburn, providing its boundaries as all area within 600 miles of the railroad depot (Ga. Laws 1853-54, p. 244). In the following years, Fairburn grew, while Campbellton went into decline. In an act of Oct. 17, 1870, the legislature provided that the Campbell's county seat be moved to a site on the Atlanta and West Point Railroad, with county voters to select the site in a referendum to be held in Nov. 1871. In that election, Fairburn was chosen as county seat--a designation it would hold until the county was abolished on Jan. 1, 1932.
Courthouse Details: Shortly after Campbell County was created, a wooden courthouse was built in the new county seat of Campbellton. This building was replaced in 1835 with a two-story brick structure. In 1870, the legislature provided that Campbell County's seat of government be moved to a site on the Atlanta & West Point Railroad, with voters to select the site in a referendum in Nov. 1871 (Ga. Laws 1870, p. 13). As soon as a site was selected, the county's ordinary was to select four additional citizens to help him select land to purchase for construction of a courthouse. On Dec. 13, 1871, the legislature authorized Campbell County's ordinary to borrow up to $7,000 to finance construction of a new courthouse (Ga. Laws 1871-72, p. 215). Presumably, the courthouse was completed in 1872, after which the old courthouse in Campbellton was abandoned, eventually being torn down in the early 1900s. The new courthouse at Fairburn served until Campbell County merged with Fulton County on Jan. 1, 1932. In 1983, the old Campbell County courthouse was restored. Since then, it has served as a community center. - Metadata URL:
- http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/id:dlg_gacoch_campbell-county-courthouse
- Digital Object URL:
- http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/do:dlg_gacoch_campbell-county-courthouse
- Holding Institution:
- Digital Library of Georgia
- Rights:
-
