Burke County - American Courthouses

Burke County is named for Edmund Burke, who was a member of the British Parliament who advised the repeal of the Stamp Act and reconciliation with the American colonies.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Richmond County and Aiken County, South Carolina

E – Barnwell County, South Carolina and Allendale County, South Carolina

S – Screven County, Jenkins County and Emanuel County

W – Jefferson County

Created: February 5, 1777

County Seat:

Waynesboro 1784 – present

County Courthouse – Waynesboro

Location: 111 East 6th Street / North Liberty Street

Built: 1857 – 1858

Style: Vernacular with Italianate

Architect: D B Plump

Contractor: John Jones

Description: The building faces southwest and is a two story red colored brick, stone and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Waynesboro. The older southwest section of the building has a square red colored brick Victorian Clock tower on the southwest corner and two stair cases up to the second story. The red colored roof is hipped. The large courtroom is located on the second story. The architect was D B Plump and the contractor was John Jones. The building was expanded in 1899 to 1890 on the northeast side. The architect was Lewis F Goodrich and the contractor was Mr. Blair. The building was renovated in 1982. The architect was John Brown of Brown and Sigg and the contractor was A L Adams Construction Company of Augusta.

County Courthouse Annex – Waynesboro

Location: 111 East 6th Street / North Liberty Street

Built: 1938 – 1940

Style: Neo-Classical Revival

Architect: Odis Clay Poundstone

Contractor: H E Peel

Description: The building faces southeast and is a two story red colored brick, stone and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Waynesboro and is connected to the courthouse on the southwest side. The southeast front projects and has a large portico having four large columns rising to a pediment at the roof line. The recessed wall is gray colored concrete with a central entrance on the first story. A wide horizontal band runs below the roof line. The building houses the County Probate Court and County Magistrate Court of the 10th Judicial District. The construction was a Works Progress Administration project.

Note: The contractor, H E Peel declared bankruptcy during construction. McGregor Company of Athens completed the furnishings.

County Judicial Center – Waynesboro

Location: 202 East 6th Street / Myrick Street

Built: 2017 – 2019

Style: Modern

Architect: Carter Watkins Associates Architects Inc. of Monroe

Contractor: McKnight Construction Company Inc. of Augusta

Description: The building faces west and is a two story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located tin the center of Waynesboro to the east of the courthouse. The west front has two columns rising to a wide header with pediment at the roof line and recessed large windows. On the south and north ends, the building projects slightly and rises to pediments at the roof line. Along the southwest and northwest sides are vertical concrete pilasters. The roof line is flat. In the interior, the County Superior Court courtrooms are located on the second story. The building houses the County Superior Court, County State Court, and County Juvenile Court of the 10th Judicial District.

See: The 10th Judicial District includes Banks County, Barrow County, Clarke County, Columbia County, Elbert County, Franklin County, Glascock County, Hart County, Jackson County, Lincoln County, Madison County, McDuffie County, Newton County, Oconee County, Oglethorpe County, Richmond County, Taliaferro County, Walton County, Warren County and Wilkes County.

Note: The first state constitution in 1777 created eight counties: Burke County, Camden County, Chatham County, Effingham County, Glynn County, Liberty County, Richmond County and Wilkes County. These were carved out of the coastal areas that were settled when Georgia was a British colony.

History: The county was created in 1777 and Waynesboro was selected as the county seat in 1784 when the county was organized. The first courthouse was built in 1773 and became the courthouse. The second courthouse was built by John Sharp in 1777. The third courthouse was built in 1825 and burned in 1956. In 1857, John Jones provided the slave labor to construct the fourth and present courthouse. The County Judicial Center was constructed in2017 to 2019 at a cost of $16,913,000.

County Courthouse – Waynesboro