Newberry in Newberry County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Old Court House

Photographed 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.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Notable Buildings • Notable Places. A significant historical year for this entry is 1852.

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. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1207 Caldwell St, Newberry SC 29108, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 10 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Newberry (within shouting distance of this marker); Vietnam War (within shouting distance of this marker); Korean War (within shouting distance of this marker); Calvin Crozier (within shouting distance of this marker); Newberry County Confederate Monument (within shouting

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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, measured in a direct line); Newberry Cotton Mills (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Newberry.

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

Photographed By Mike Stroud, 2008

2. Old Court House Marker

Marker can be seen just left of the lower doorway.

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 . . . National Register Properties in South Carolina, Old Courthouse, Newberry County. (Submitted on October 2, 2008.)

Additional commentary.
1. Old Court House, Newberry
The Old Court House at Newberry, erected 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

Old Court House image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mike Stroud, September 27, 2008

3. 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).

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 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.