Halifax County is named for George Montague-Dunk, who was the 2nd Earl of Halifax.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Campbell County and Charlotte County
E – Charlotte County and Mecklenburg County
S – Granville County, North Carolina, Person County, North Carolina and Caswell County, North Carolina
Created: February 27, 1752 
County Seat:
Punch Spring 1752 – 1761
Peytonsburg 1761 – 1767
Hawkin’s Crossing 1767 – 1777
Halifax 1777 – present
County Courthouse – Halifax
Location: 8 South Main Street / Mountain Road
Built: 1838 – 1839
Style: Classical Revival
Architect: Dabney Cosby and Son, Dabney Cosby, Jr.
Contractor: Dabney Cosby and Son, Dabney Cosby, Jr.
Description: The building faces east and is a two story red colored brick structure. The building is locacated on landscaped grounds in the center of Halifax. The east front has a large portico with four white colored columns rising to a pediment at the roof line. The roof is hipped. In the interior, the judge’s chamber and jury rooms have original Greek Revival style mantels and symmetrically molded trim that surrounds the original paneled doors and windows. Twin stairs in the hall have paneled newel posts, turned balusters and molded handrails from 1904. The remodeled courtroom is located on the second story. The building houses the County Circuit Court, County General District Court and County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court of the 10th Judicial Circuit. An addition was constructed in 1904 and the architect was B F Smith Fireproofing Company and the contractor was South Boston Lumber. In 1962 to 1964, the building was expanded on the west side forming a “T” shape. The building was renovated in 2018 to 2020 with construction of a new addition along the west side. The architect was CMJW Architecture and the contractor was Blair Construction Inc. of Gretna.
Note: In 1838, the plans for the courthouse were prepared by Thomas J Green, John H Wimbish, Isaac Medley, Sr., William T Ballow, Thompson Baker, Charles T Harris and William Holt, or any five or more of them.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Halifax County Courthouse
See: The 10th Judicial Circuit includes Appomattox County, Buckingham County, Charlotte County, Cumberland County, Halifax County, Lunenburg County, Mecklenburg County and Prince Edward County.
History: The county was created in 1752. The first court met at the home of Hampton Wade at Spanish Oak Ridge and at the home of Richard Dudgeon. Court was then held at Punch Spring and the first courthouse was a brick structure built by James Roberts Jr. in 1754 to 1755. Punch Spring was renamed as Peytonsburg in 1761. The county was divided in 1766 and the county seat was moved to Hawkin’s Crossing and court met at the home of John Apperson, Jr. The third courthouse was the converted barn owned by John Apperson, Jr. Mark Milne was hired to remodel the structure. In 1775 a contract was given to George Watkins to build a new courthouse but the materials were removed to land owned by John Boram. In 1777 the county seat was moved to Halifax and Caleb Thomas received the contract to build a new courthouse but none was built. The court met in the home of John Boram. The fourth courthouse was a frame structure built by Stone and Hunt from 1802 to 1803. The fifth and present courthouse was constructed in 1838 to 1839 at a cost of $6,657. The cost of the 2020 addition was $14,824,000.
County Government Office Complex – Halifax
Location: 1050 Mary Bethune Street / North Main Street
Built: 1955 – 1956
Style: School
Architect: Unknown
Contractor: Unknown
Description: The building faces north and is a two story red colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Halifax to the northeast of the courthouse. The roof line is flat. The building was the former Mary Bethune High School and is now the County Government Office Complex.
County Courthouse – Halifax
County Circuit Court courtroom
Barrister’s Row – Halifax
County Government Office Complex – Halifax
Photos taken 2013