Darlington County - American Courthouses

Darlington County is named for Darlington, a city in England. Great Britain.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Chesterfield County

E – Marlboro County

S – Florence County

W – Lee County and Kershaw County

Created: March 12, 1875

County Seat:

Darlington 1785 – present

County Courthouse – Darlington

Location: 1 Public Square / Pearl Street

Built: 1963 – 1964

Style: Modern

Architect: Gyles, Basset, Clarke & Wolf

Contractor: General Construction Company

Description: The building faces northwest and is a six story brick, concrete, stone and glass structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Darlington. The base has large stone faced arches with the entrances being recessed. Narrow vertical bands divide the narrow vertical windows and buff brick vertical bands. The top of the building is faced with light stone. The roof line is flat. In the interior, the large County Circuit Court courtroom is located on the north side of the fourth story. The courtroom has a high ceiling and long narrow windows. There is a small courtroom on northwest side of the third story. The building houses the County Circuit Court, County Family Court and County Probate Court of the 4th Judicial Circuit.

See: The architect William August Edwards designed other courthouses in Abbeville County, Calhoun County, Dillon County, Jasper County, Kershaw County (former courthouse), Lee County, Sumter County and York County and in Florida in Sumter County .

New County Courthouse – Darlington

Location: 110 North Main Street / Fountain Street

Built: 2022 – 2024

Style: Modern

Architect: Michael Baker International of Columbia

Contractor: FBi Construction Inc. of Florence

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 Darlington. The southwest front has a recessed center with four columns. Rising to a wide pediment. On the north and south sides are parches with two columns each. The roof is hipped. The building houses the County Circuit Court, County Family Court and County Probate Court of the 4th Judicial Circuit.

See: The 4th Judicial Circuit includes Chesterfield County, Dillon County and Marlboro County

History: The area became part of St David’s Parish in 1768 and the Cheraws District in 1769. The county was created in 1785. The county was originally part of the Cheraw District. The geographic center of the county was the first county seat. The first courthouse was built in 1791 and burned in 1806. In 1800 Darlington became as circuit court district. In 1868 Darlington became a county again with the county seat at Darlington. The second courthouse was built in Darlington and burned in 1866. The third courthouse was built in 1870 to 1873. The fourth courthouse was designed by Edwards & Walter and constructed by DeLeon & Lopez in 1903. The fifth courthouse was constructed in 1963 to 1964. The sixth and present courthouse was constructed in 2022 to 2024 at a cost of $15,400,000.