Polk County Courthouses

Polk County Courthouses. . The first courthouse in the area was a frame building erected in Van Wert in 1838. When Cedar Town was made the county seat of the newly formed Polk County in 1851, Asa Prior sold land to the new county for a new courthouse for $1,200. The two story frame courthouse was built in 1852 on an acre-sized public square. The 1852 courthouse was burned by Union cavalry on raids late in the Civil War, and its replacement, a simple brick structure, was in use from 1867 to 1889. A two-story jail was built across the street behind the courthouse in 1874. A confederate monument was added to the grounds in 1905., The 1889 Polk County Courthouse was designed by William Parkins, who designed other Georgia courthouses in Sparta, Vienna and Lexington. The Romanesque structure contained a clock tower and several turrets and ornamental details. Over time, the clock tower exhibited a disturbing lean. Fearing structural failure, the clock tower was removed by the county during World War II. The current courthouse was designed in the stripped classical style by William J.J. Chase and built in 1951., [Captions (clockwise from top left)] , . The Old Polk County Courthouse The third courthouse of Polk County was constructed in 1889, and designed by William Parkins in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. After its demolition, the original bell tower's ornamental ironwork was used in the garden walls of the Polk County Historical Society. , . In 1951 a new Polk County Courthouse was constructed, in what is called the “Stripped Classical” style. It also exhibits some art deco-like features. , . During World War II, the clock tower began to lean. Fearing structural failure the tower was removed, and the building painted white. , Images courtesy of Polk County Historical Society . This historical marker is in Cedartown in Polk County Georgia