Muscogee County is named for the Muscogee Native American tribe known as the Creek Indians.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Harris County
E – Talbot County and Chattahoochee County
W – Russell County, Alabama
Created: June 9, 1825 
County Seat:
Columbus 1825 – present
County Courthouse – Columbus
Location: 100 10th Street / 1st Avenue
Built: 1972 – 1973
Style: Modern – International and Brutalism
Architect: E Owen Smith and Biggers, Scarbrough, Neal, Crisp & Clark
Contractor: Jordan – Grove Construction Company
Description: The building faces north and is a twelve story concrete and glass structure. The building is located in the center of Columbus and sits at the south end of a plaza flanked by one story buildings on the east and west sides. The main building has horizontal panels between each story. The building has a flat roof. The building houses the merged county and city governments and is named as the Muscogee Government Center. In the interior are nine courtrooms and the largest courtroom is the County Superior Court courtroom located on the eleventh story. The building houses the County Superior Court, County State Court, County Juvenile Court, County Probate Court and County Magistrate Court of the 3rd Judicial District.
New County Judicial Center – Columbus
Location: 100 10th Street / 1st Avenue
Built: 2024 – 2026 ( under construction )
Style: Modern
Architect: SLAM Collaborative Architects of Atlanta
Contractor: Gilbane Building Company.
Description: The building will face north and will be an eight story brick, concrete and glass structure. The building is located in the center of Columbus and sits at the north end of a plaza flanked by one story buildings on the east and west sides. The north and south exterior wil be glass. The roof line will be flat. The interior will have 18 courtrooms. The cost is $200,000,000 and the 1972 County Government Center will be demolished. i 2027.
See: The 3rd Judicial District includes Bibb County, Chattahoochee County, Crawford County, Harris County, Houston County, Lee County, Macon County, Marion County, Peach County, Schley County, Stewart County, Sumter County, Talbot County, Taylor County and Webster County.
History: The county was created in 1825 and Columbus was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was built in 1829 in Columbus. The second courthouse was a three story brick structure built in 1838. The third courthouse was a large domed structure designed by Andrew J Bryan and constructed by De Volt in 1896 at a cost of $63,500. The building was demolished in 1972. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 1972 to 1973.
Old Chattahoochee County Courthouse – Columbus
Location: 3557 South Lumpkin Road / Custer Road
Built: 1854 – 1855
Style: Antebellum Wood Frame
Architect: James Cottingham.
Contractor: James Cottingham.
Description: The building faces south and is a two story white colored clapboard structure. The building is located on the landscaped grounds in the center of the Historic Westville to the south of the center of Columbus. The building has an entrance on each side. There are green colored shutters and a hipped roof. The second story is an unfinished open space. The building was erected in Cusseta in Chattahoochee County and served until 1974. The building was moved to Lumpkin and then moved to Columbus.
Note: The old courthouse is the only antebellum courthouse in Georgia with no exterior changes. The cost of construction was $6,000.
See: The only other wood courthouse in Georgia is located at Tazewell in Marion County.
County Courthouse – Columbus
County Superior Court courtroom
Old Chattahoochee County Courthouse – Columbus
Photos taken 2010 and 2020