- Collection:
- Georgia County Courthouses
- Title:
- Cherokee County Courthouse
- Creator:
- Seibert, David, 1941-2020
- Contributor to Resource:
- Mayes, Sudderth, and Etheridge
- Date of Original:
- 1994
- Subject:
- Courthouses--Georgia--Cherokee County
Courthouses--Georgia--Canton - Location:
- United States, Georgia, Cherokee County, Canton, 34.23676, -84.49076
- Medium:
- photographs
- Type:
- Still Image
- Format:
- image/jpeg
- Description:
- Courthouse Details: The Dec. 3, 1832 act recreating Cherokee County directed that county elections and court sessions be held at the house of John Lay (Ga. Laws 1832, p. 56). The law also authorized the county's inferior court to select a site for the county seat and to provide for erection of a courthouse and other public buildings. Reportedly, Cherokee County's first courthouse was a log cabin at a site known as "Jack Wright's old place" (subsequently named "Etowa" and then "Etowah" by the legislature, and then renamed "Canton" in 1834). At some date, a second courthouse was built in Canton - but this structure was burned by Union troops in 1865. In an act of Dec. 15, 1871, the legislature authorized Cherokee County to borrow up to $10,000 to build a new courthouse (Ga. Laws 1871-72, p. 215). Construction of a new courthouse began in 1873, but it became apparent that the courthouse could not be completed for $10,000. On March 2, 1874, the legislature authorized Cherokee County to borrow an extra $5,000 to finance completion of the courthouse (Ga. Laws 1874, p. 323). The new brick courthouse was constructed in 1874 on Main St. opposite S. Church St. Eventually, this building proved insufficient, for on Aug. 2, 1921, the legislature created a commission to construct a new courthouse, including authority to borrow the necessary funds (Ga. Laws 1921, p. 424). For whatever reason, the commission failed to approve construction of a new courthouse until 1927. A new site - one block north on North St. - was selected for the new courthouse. In 1928, while construction of the new courthouse was underway, the old courthouse burned. The new courthouse was completed in 1929.. In the 1970s, Cherokee County began experiencing rapid population growth - particularly in the southern end of the county, which became home to many residents who commuted to jobs in Atlanta. As a result, Cherokee County opened a government annex in Woodstock. By the late 1980s, the county's courthouse in Canton was so overcrowded that many county offices were moved to the nearby Jones Mercantile Building. This structure was subsequently remodeled and became the Cherokee County Administrative Offices Building. In the early 1990s, Cherokee County voters approved a special-purpose local option sales tax that included $16 million for building a new courthouse complex in Canton, plus $3 million for building a new county government annex near Woodstock. Construction of Cherokee County's current courthouse began in 1993 and was completed the following year. At that time, all courts moved into the new building, although a few administrative departments remained in the old courthouse. Officially known as the Cherokee County Justice Center, the building houses eight courtrooms and all judicial offices. The Justice Center, Administrative Offices Building, and old courthouse now form a county government complex facing the downtown Canton public square.
- External Identifiers:
- Metadata URL:
- http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/id:dlg_gacoch_cherokee-county-courthouse
- Digital Object URL:
- http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/do:dlg_gacoch_cherokee-county-courthouse
- Holding Institution:
- Digital Library of Georgia
- Rights:
-
