Bulloch County Courthouse
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Bulloch County Courthouse
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Bulloch County Courthouse in 2017
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| Location | Courthouse Sq., Statesboro, Georgia |
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| Coordinates | 32°26′57″N 81°46′59″W / 32.44917°N 81.78306°WCoordinates: 32°26′57″N 81°46′59″W / 32.44917°N 81.78306°W |
| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1894 |
| Architect | Bruce & Morgan. 1894; Edward Columbus Hosford of Hosford & Co., 1914 |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival, Queen Anne |
| MPS | Georgia County Courthouses TR |
| NRHP Reference # | 80000978 |
| Added to NRHP | September 18, 1980 |
The Bulloch County Courthouse is a historic courthouse that is located in downtown Statesboro, Georgia. It was built in 1894 to house the county government. On September 18, 1980, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Bulloch County was officially established on February 8, 1796. Bryan and Screven counties were the two counties that Bulloch County was created from by an act of the Georgia General Assembly. Bulloch County was named after Archibald Bulloch who was Georgia’s first provisional governor from 1776 to 1777. In 1796 three men were appointed to be commissioners: Drury Jones, John Mikell and Israel Bird. They were in charge of finding a proper place to build the courthouse and the jail. In May 1797 the first Superior Court was held in Bulloch County at Stephen Mills’ home and continued to be held there until the courthouse was built. The fourth Mondays in April and October were the only two days that the superior court met each year. The inferior court, however, met every first Monday of the month. When Bulloch County first started having court, there were no local lawyers or judges. Bulloch County obtained its first lawyers and judges after the Civil War.
The justices of the inferior court that were appointed by the legislature in 1796 were Israel Bird, John Rawls, and James Bird. The justices of the peace included John Douglas, John Everett, Robert Scott, William McCall, and Mark Pridgeon.
Benjamin Richardson, Drury Jones, Joseph Rogers, and John Everett, and Stephen Denmark are the justices of the inferior court that were appointed through 1800. Jarvis Jackson, Hardeman Richardson, and John O’Neil were the ones that succeed them in 1802. The justices would now be compensated for their services in 1802 because of an act that was passed. Bridger Jones was appointed in 1808 as justice. S. Williams and Jonathon Roberts were appointed as justices in 1810.
In 1803, in exchange for receiving 200 acres (0.81 km2) of land to build the courthouse, jail, and other public buildings, the Georgia General Assembly was to name the new county seat “Statesborough.” Bulloch County did not have a courthouse until 1806. All of the court proceedings before 1806 were held in private homes or under the Old Walnut Tree. Statesboro did not grown any in the fifty years that it had been developed. It was just considered the place where court took place. On December 5, 1864 the 15th Corps of General William Sherman’s army burned the courthouse. “Statesborough” was officially incorporated by the legislature on December 20, 1866. The name changed from “Statesborough” to “Statesboro.”
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