Monroe County is named for James Monroe, who was President of the United States from 1817 to 1825.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Barren County and Metcalfe County
S – Clay County, Tennessee and Macon County, Tennessee
W – Allen County
Created: January 19, 1820
County Seat:
Tompkinsville 1820 – present
County Courthouse – Tompkinsville
Location: 200 North Main Street / East 3rd Street
Built: 1976 – 1979
Style: Modern Georgian
Architect: Morton-Lyne & Associates
Contractor: Alliance Corporation.
Description: The building faces northwest and is a two story red colored brick and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Tompkinsville. The northwest entrance has a large arch which is trimmed with stone, rises to the second story and has a recessed glass entrance. A wide white colored cornice is along the roof line. On the center of the roof is a high white colored wood cupola with white colored dome.
County Judicial Center – Tompkinsville
Location: 300 North Main Street / East 3rd Street
Built: 2009 – 2011
Style: Modern
Architect: DLZ Architects of Lexington
Contractor: Alliance Corporation of Glasgow
Description: The building faces southwest and is a two story red colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Tompkinsville. The southwest front has a porch supported by four square concrete columns. There are concrete panels between the first and second story windows. A wide concrete band runs below the flat roof line. The building houses the County Circuit Court and County District Court of the 40th Judicial Circuit.
See: The 40th Judicial Circuit includes Clinton County and Cumberland County.
History: The county was created in 1820 and Tompkinsville was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a brick and stone structure built in 1822 to 1823 and was burned by Confederate guerillas in 1863 during the Civil War as payback for Federal troops burning the Celina, Tennessee courthouse. The second courthouse was built in 1864 and lost to fire in 1877. The third courthouse was a two story brick structure built by R F Comer of Gamaliel in 1887 to 1889 and lasted until 1975 when the building was dismantled to make way for the fourth and present courthouse. The county Judicial Center was constructed in 2009 to 2011.
County Courthouse – Tompkinsville
Photos taken 2007
Images 6