Whitley County is named for William Whitley, who was a Kentucky pioneer, and who lived from 1749 to 1813.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Laurel County
E – Knox County and Bell County
S – Claiborne County, Tennessee and Campbell County, Tennessee
W – McCreary County
Created: January 17, 1818
County Seat:
Williamsburg 1818 – present
County Courthouse – Williamsburg
Location: 200 Main Street / North 3rd Street
Built: 1931 – 1932
Style: Modern Colonial Revival
Architect: W A Rotherford Jr.
Contractor: Kirkpatrick & Robertson
Description: The building faces southeast and is a two story red colored brick, skeletal steel, stone and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Williamsburg. The southeast front has a portico supported by metal pillars sitting on four cut stone blocks, with a pediment at the roof. Narrow recessed sections are on the north and south with rounded roofs. Red panels separate the windows in a vertical pattern. Between the windows is red colored brick. A stone cornice and stone trim at the corners are along the building. The building was substantially renovated in 1971. The architect was D E Perkins and the contractor was Arthur Hibbitts. Further additions and a renovation were done in 1989. The architect was Richard L Reecher and the contractor was D W Wilburn Inc. In 2006, the architect was Ross & Tarrant, Architects, Inc. and the contractor was Parmac, LLC., E D A Construction, Company, Inc and W D Bryant & Sons, Inc.. In 2008, the architect was Ross & Tarrant, Architects, Inc. and the contractor was Craig Mullin Construction.
County Judicial Center – Williamsburg
Location: 100 Main Street / North 2nd Street
Built: 2009 – 2011
Style: Modern
Architect: Murphy & Graves of Lexington
Contractor: Codell Construction Company of Winchester
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 Williasmsburg on the northeast side of the courthouse. The south corner has a square three story red colored brick tower with large arched window and entrance on the first story and rising to a clock and peaked roof at the top. The second story has large arched windows. The roof line is mansard with fla center section and with hexagonal white colored cupola at the south corner. The building houses the County Circuit Court and County District Court of the 34th Judicial Circuit.
See: The contractor was Codell Construction Company of Winchester which company constructed many courthouse in Kentucky
(see Louisville).
Note: There is also a County District Court located at the Corbin City Hall 805 South Main Street in Corbin
See: The 34th Judicial Circuit includes McCreary County.
History: The county was created in 1818 and Williamsburg was selected as the county seat. The first court met at the home of Samuel Cox. The first courthouse was constructed on the public square in 1819 at a cost of $2,800. A second courthouse was a two story structure designed by H P McDonald Brothers and constructed in 1882. The courthouse and was damaged by fire in 1931. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1931 to 1932. The County Judicial Center was constructed in 2009 to 2011.
County Courthouse – Williamsburg
County Judicial Center – Williamsburg
Photos taken 2007 and 2014
Images 19