Barbour County is named for Phillip Pendleton Barbour, who was a Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Taylor County
E – Preston County and Tucker County
S – Randolph County and Upshur County
W – Harrison County
Created: March 3, 1843
County Seat:
Philippi 1843 – present
County Courthouse – Philippi
Location: 26 North Main Street / Court Street
Built: 1903 – 1905
Style: Richardson Romanesque
Architect: J Charles Fulton of Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Contractor: John P Conn
Description: The building faces southwest and is a three story brown colored stone and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Philippi. The rectangular shaped building is constructed of Hummelstown brownstone, a high-quality, medium-grain, dense sandstone quarried near Hummelstown in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. The southwest front has a central entrance with large projecting arch and recessed doorway. Above on the second story is a large arched window with smaller arched windows on either side. On the north side of the entrance is a four story tower with opening near the top and a steep green colored roof. A stringcourse below the cornice carries above the chamfered corners of the belfry superstructure four gargoyle-like projections. On the south side is a corner tower with steep red colored roof. The red colored roof is hipped with gables. In the interior, the major corridors feature tile-covered floors bordered with a Greek fret motif. Cast metal stair rails are also refinements of note. An octagon, the courtroom on the second story is a grand space. The judge’s dais faces the auditorium behind an arcaded rail and is flanked by smooth columns with enriched capitals. These paired columns are found at four opposite points in the courtroom. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 19th Judicial Circuit and County Magistrate Court.
See: The architect, J Charles Fulton of Uniontown, Pennsylvania also designed and the contractor, John P Conn also constructed the courthouses in Doddridge County and Randolph County.
Note: The County Magistrates Court is located on the northwest side of the courthouse at 47 Church Street and North Main Street.
See: The 19th Judicial District includes Taylor County.
History: The county was created in 1843 and Philippi was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a wood-frame Greek Revival structure designed by William K Hall and built by John S Murdock, Amos Carroll and William Carroll in 1843 to 1844. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1903 to 1905.
County Courthouse – Philippi
Photos taken 2012