Cherokee County Courthouse – HistoryCherokee County, formed in 1839 from Macon, was names after the Cherokee Nation. The county seat of Murphy was named for Archibald De Bow Murphy (sic), the father of North Carolina public education. This mountainous county is the western-most county in North Carolina and is bordered by Georgia, Tennessee, and several counties.

Cherokee is set in the Great Smoky Mountains, and the dams on the Hiwassee River have created large fresh water recreational areas. Located in a region of great natural beauty, Cherokee County enjoys a substantial tourist industry while maintaining a diverse and stable economy based on agriculture and industrial production.

Murphy, the county seat of Cherokee County, is located at the junction of the Hiwassee and Valley Rivers. Its townscape conforms to the irregular, dramatic topography of its Smokey Mountain setting.

The courthouse, a grandiose Neo-Classical Revival structure, occupies the principle corner of the square – Peachtree and Central – with other structures to its rear and sides. The marble-clad building contrasts with the modest commercial structure that face the square and line the town’s streets. Possessing sophisticated classical elements and a dramatic cupola, the courthouse creates a powerful architectural presence and is the most prominent feature of the Murphy skyline.

Courthouse History

Cherokee County’s first court was held in a rented house. In 1841 the county purchased a site that became Murphy, the county seat, and built the first courthouse of brick. Federal troops allegedly burned the structure in 1865, but citizens immediately rebuilt it using the same walls. In 1892, a third courthouse appeared, but it burned in December 1895. A fourth courthouse was constructed and it too burned, in 1924.

In January 1926, the county commissioners decreed that the old walls of the burned building be demolished and hauled away “except the marble slabs on the outside of the foundation” which were to be used in the new structure. The commissioners hired James J. Baldwin as architect and James Fanning as the contractor for the new courthouse which cost approximately $200,000.

Architectural Description

The Cherokee County Courthouse is an elaborate and academic example of late Neo-Classical Revival architecture. Designed in 1926 by James J. Baldwin, the two-story, marble veneered structure represents the most mature phase of the Neo-Classical Revival in its use of opulent materials and sophisticated handling of classical ornament and proportion.

The courthouse is composed of three parts that are organized diagonally on a corner lot. An entrance pavilion is fronted by a Corinthian portico, and recessed wings are stepped back parallel to the two intersecting streets. The portico carries a Corinthian entablature that continues around the visible elevations of the building. The richly molded cornice is executed in tan stone which contrasts with the blue-gray marble of the main body. Otherwise, the wall surfaces are unornamented.

Centered above the entrance pavilion is a monumental cupola that dominates the building. Rising a full two stores above the roof, it is the courthouse’s most powerful visual element. A stone balustrade accented with classical urns surrounds the base of the polygonal cupola. The lower stage is pierced by louvered, round arched openings whose alternating faces contain clocks. A ribbed domical roof is surmounted by an elongated classical lantern.

The ground floor of the courthouse is arranged in a conventional manner: cross-halls, lined with marble wainscots, intersect at a common point. The floor is laid in marble squares, and a sunburst medallion fills the center space. The courtroom, located on the second floor, is a richly detailed rectangular chamber distinguished by fine plaster and woodwork. A high flat paneled wainscot serves as the base for paired Corinthian pilasters which break the wall surfaces and separate window bays. Windows are linteled, but round arched moldings with keystones form arched heads. A handsome pediment wooden frontispiece is centered behind the judge’s bench; marble tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments frame the pediment. Although poorly maintained, the courtroom’s classical décor is appropriate for the judicial function of the room.