Yarmouth County is named for Yarmouth, Massachusetts as settlers arrived from Cape Cod in 1761 or for Lady Yarmouth, who was the mistress of King George II.
Surrounding Courthouses:
N – Digby County
E – Shelburne County
S – Atlantic Ocean
W – Bay of Fundy and New Brunswick
County Created : 1836
County Seat:
Yarmouth 1836 – present
County Justice Centre – Yarmouth
Location: 164 Main Street / Ennis Street
Built: 2007 – 2009
Style: Modern
Architect: John K. Dobbs & Associates of Halifax
Contractor: Unknown
Description: The building faces east and is a two story red coloured brick, glass and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the centre of Yarmouth. The roof line is flat. In the interior there are two courtrooms located on the second story. The building is named as the Yarmouth Justice Centre.
Old Courthouse – Yarmouth
Location: Main Street / Gleber Street
Built: 1931 – 1933
Style: Georgian
Architect: Unknown
Contractor: Unknown
Description: The building faces west and is a two story red coloured brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the centre of Yarmouth.
Old Courthouse – Tusket
Location: Lighthouse Road / Courthouse Road
Built: 1805
Style: Colonial
Architect: Unknown
Contractor: Unknown
Description: The building faces west and is a two story white coloured wood frame structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the centre of Tusket. The west front of the rectangular building has a central entrance. There is a bell tower at the west end of the gabled roof. In 1833, the building was doubled in length, and was lengthened again in 1870.
Note: The courthouse is the oldest courthouse in Canada.
History: The courts of the General Sessions of Peace were established in 1789 with meetings held in various places in the Townships of Argle and Yarmouth. The first courthouse was built in 1805 at Tusket and is still standing. In Yarmouth, the court met in a building which stood at the northeast corner of the old Episcopal Church lot and which was removed about 1805. The second courthouse and jail was built in Yarmouth in 1820. The county was created in 1836 and Yarmouth was selected as the county seat. The third courthouse was built in Yarmouth in 1862 to 1863 and the jail was built in 1865. In 1870, the courthouse in Tusket was was expanded. In 1889 the third courthouse was raised with a stone foundation and on March 19, 1931 it was destroyed by fire. The fourth courthouse was constructed in Yarmouth in 1931 to 1933 and is still standing. The fifth courthouse, the County Justice Centre was constructed in Yarmouth in 2007 to 2009 at a cost of $14,800,000.
County Justice Centre – Yarmouth
Old Courthouse – Yarmouth
Former courtroom
Old Courthouse – Tusket
Photos taken 2018