HMdb.org THE HISTORICAL
MARKER DATABASE
            “Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
  Home  — My Markers  — Add A Marker  — Marker Series  — Links & Books  — Forum  — About Us
Newberry in Newberry County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Old Court House
 
Old Court House Marker Photo, Click for full size
By Mike Stroud, September 2008
1. Old Court House Marker
 
Inscription.
Designed by Jacob Graves and built by John Damron, Newberry County's fourth court house was erected in 1852. It replaced an earlier building on this site which was probably designed by Robert Mills. The Old Court House is now used as a community hall. The bas-relief, added by Osborne Wells, is said to depict the Prostrate State held by the Federal eagle, the gamecock defiantly representing the Spirit of South Carolina.
 
Erected 1970 by Newberry Civic League. (Marker Number 36-4.)
 
Location. 34° 16.469′ N, 81° 37.199′ W. Marker is in Newberry, South Carolina, in Newberry County. Marker is on Caldwell St. near Main Street, on the right. Click for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1207 Caldwell St, Newberry SC 29108, United States of America.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 10 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Vietnam War (within shouting distance of this marker); Korean War (within shouting distance of this marker); Newberry County Confederate Monument (within shouting distance of this marker); Calvin Crozier (within shouting distance of this marker); Newberry County World War I Monument (within shouting distance of this marker); National WWII Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); The Opera House (within shouting distance of this marker); Newberry County World War II Monument (about 300 feet away, in a direct line); Newberry Cotton Mills (approx. 0.2 miles away); Newberry Village Cemetery (approx. 0.3 miles away). Click for a list of all markers in Newberry.
 
Old Court House Marker Photo, Click for full size
By Mike Stroud, 2008
2. Old Court House Marker
Marker can be seen just left of the lower doorway.
 

 
Regarding Old Court House. The Old Courthouse was added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1971 (Building - #71000791) It was designed by Jacob Graves and built by James Damron.
Newberry Historic District **
(added 1974 - Newberry County - #74001870)
Also known as See Also:Old Courthouse;Newberry Opera House
Bounded roughly by Friend, College, McKibben, and Harrington Sts., Newberry
(20 acres, 5 buildings, 1 object)
Historic Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
Architect, builder, or engineer: Unknown
Architectural Style: Romanesque
Area of Significance: Military, Architecture
Period of Significance: 1750-1799, 1850-1874, 1875-1899
Owner: Private
Historic Function: Commerce/Trade, Domestic
Historic Sub-function: Business, Financial Institution, Hotel
Current Function: Commerce/Trade
Current Sub-function: Business, Financial Institution
 
Also see . . .
1. The County of Newberry South Carolina. (Submitted on September 29, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.)
2. National Register Properties in South Carolina, Old Courthouse, Newberry County. (Submitted on October 2, 2008.)
 
Additional comments.
1. Old Court House, Newberry
The Old Court House at Newberry, erected
 
Old Court House - Front (Northeast ) Elevation Photo, Click for full size
By Brian Scott, November 1, 2008
3. Old Court House - Front (Northeast ) Elevation
The Newberry Opera House tower can be seen in the right distance.
 
1852, was designed by Jacob Graves and built by James Darmon. An outstanding example of Greek revival architecture in stuccoed brick, the building has six fluted, Tuscan columns which support a massive, triangular pediment. Intricate, Doric entablature includes: friez design of alternating triglyphs and undecorated metopes; regulas of architrave and mutules of cornice decorated with guttae. Stairway with ironwork railings leads from street level to second floor porch. Symmetrically spaced on second level are two windows and three entrances. Each entrance is a double three-panel door.

During Reconstruction (1880), Osborne Wells, an ardent Southerner, was assigned the task of remodeling the court house. Well’s additions included two-columned porticos at side entrances and a bas-relief mounted on the frontal pediment. This depicts the spirit of the prostrate state: a U.S. eagle holds an uprooted palmetto tree in its talons; perched upon the tree roots, is a gamecock crowing defiantly; at top of three a dove bears an olive branch.

Significance
Architecturally, the Old Court House is a physical document of the graceful, antebellum era and the difficult years of Reconstruction. The building’s elaborate detail and massive proportions attest to the affluence of pre-Civil War Newberry County. Its eye-catching bas-relief remains as a reminder of the spirit of
 
Relief and Column Top Detail Photo, Click for full size
By Brian Scott, November 1, 2008
4. Relief and Column Top Detail
 
South Carolinians during the bleak period of Reconstruction.

This building, the fourth in a series of five Newberry County Court Houses, was used for court sessions between 1852 and 1906. Presently, the Social Security Office and County Development Board occupy the first floor. Restoration of the upper floor for adaptive use as a community hall includes kitchen equipment, air-conditioning, heating, repainting. (Source: National Register nomination form.)
    — Submitted August 9, 2009, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.
 
Old Court House - Rear (Southwest) Elevation Photo, Click for full size
By Brian Scott, November 1, 2008
5. Old Court House - Rear (Southwest) Elevation
The Newberry County Confederate Memorial is in the center.
 
 
Old Court House Photo, Click for full size
By Mike Stroud, September 27, 2008
6. Old Court House
In an allegorical representation of the "Scales of Justice," the American eagle (the Federal Government) grasps an uprooted Palmetto tree (South Carolina) in an attempt to balance a gamecock (the still-defiant citizens) and a dove with an olive branch (peace).
 
 
Mileage Stone Photo, Click for full size
By Brian Scott, November 1, 2008
7. Mileage Stone
Pointing out the mileage from Newberry to Columbia (65 miles), Edgefield (40 miles), Hamburg (62 miles), and Laurens (33 miles).
 
 
Newberry County Courthouse (5th and Current) - Front (Southwest) Elevation Photo, Click for full size
By Brian Scott, November 1, 2008
8. Newberry County Courthouse (5th and Current) - Front (Southwest) Elevation
Newberry's 5th courthouse is located in the southeast corner of the intersection of College and Martin Streets.
 
 
Newberry County Courthouse (5th and Current) - Side (Southeast) Elevation Photo, Click for full size
By Brian Scott, November 1, 2008
9. Newberry County Courthouse (5th and Current) - Side (Southeast) Elevation
 
 
Newberry County Courthouse (5th and Current) - Side (Northweat) Elevation Photo, Click for full size
By Brian Scott, November 1, 2008
10. Newberry County Courthouse (5th and Current) - Side (Northweat) Elevation
 
 
Newberry County Courthouse (5th and Current) Photo, Click for full size
By Brian Scott, November 1, 2008
11. Newberry County Courthouse (5th and Current)
 
Credits. This page originally submitted on September 29, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 709 times since then. Last updated on June 4, 2009, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on September 29, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.   3, 4, 5. submitted on November 3, 2008, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.   6. submitted on September 29, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.   7, 8, 9, 10, 11. submitted on November 3, 2008, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.
 
Recommend or Share This Page.  
Share on Tumblr


•••
More Search Options
 
Markers
Near You

 
Categories

 
States & Provinces

 
Counties
Click to List


 
Countries

Page composed
in 211 ms.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
To search within this page, hold down the Ctrl key and press F.
On an Apple computer,
hold down the Apple key and press F.