Putnam County is named for Israel Putnam, who was an American army general who fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill during the American Civil War.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Morgan County
E – Greene County and Hancock County
S – Baldwin County and Jones County
W – Jasper County
Created: December 10, 1807 
County Seat:
Eatonton 1807 – present
County Courthouse – Eatonton
Location: 100 South Jefferson Avenue / West Marion Street
Built: 1824 / 1905 – 1906
Style: Neo-Classical Revival
Architect: Unknown / James Wingfield Golucke & Company
Contractor: Unknown / J W Beeland of Macon
Description: The building faces northwest and is a two story red colored brick, concrete and stone structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds on the spacious landscaped grounds of the Public Square in the center of Eatonton and the northwest front has a projecting center section with four red colored brick pillars rising to a pediment at the roof line. There is a balcony on the second story. On the center of the roof is a large white colored dome pierced with arched, fanned windows and decorated with Corinthian pilasters and columns with clock and lantern at the top. In the interior there is a cross hall plan on the first story. The floor has large titles and wood stairs ascend to the second story. The County Superior Court courtroom is located at the center of the second story and has a high ceiling with pressed metal and a galley at the rear. The courthouse houses the County Superior Court, County State Court, County Juvenile Court, County Probate Court and Magistrate Court of the 8th Judicial District. The building was reconstructed in 1905 to 1906 with the addition of north and wings and a new roof on the original center section. The architect was James Wingfield Golucke & Company and the contractor was J W Beeland of Macon. On the east and west sides are rectangular red colored brick additions constructed in 2004. The architect was Carter Watkins Associates Architects, Inc. of Monroe and the contractor was The Potts Company of Conyers.
Note: The courthouse is located on the largest Public Square in Georgia. The center section of the courthouse was built in 1824 and is the oldest courthouse in Georgia still in use.
See: The architect, James Wingfield Golucke of Atlanta designed many courthouses and jails in Georgia.
See: The 8th Judicial District includes Baldwin County, Ben Hill County, Bleckley County, Candler County, Crisp County, Dodge County, Dooly County, Emanuel County, Greene County, Hancock County, Jasper County, Jefferson County, Johnson County, Jones County, Laurens County, Montgomery County, Morgan County, Pulaski County, Telfair County, Toombs County, Treutlen County, Twiggs County, Washington County, Wheeler County, Wilcox County and Wilkinson County
History: The county was created in 1807 and Eatonton was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse in 1807 to 1809 was the log cabin owned by George Hill in Hillsborough located on Sparta Highway and Old Phoenix Road to the east of Eatonton. The community consisted of four log cabins, a jailhouse, a blacksmith shop, a store and a saloon and had served as the county seat for Baldwin County. The second courthouse was built in Eatonton in 1824 on the present site. The third and present courthouse was constructed around the old courthouse in 1905 to 1906 at a cost of $30,000. The contractor for the 1906 courthouse, J W Beeland, also constructed the courthouse in adjoining Jasper County.
County Courthouse – Eatonton
County Superior Court courtroom
Photos taken 2013, 2018 and 2024