Old Wilkes County Courthouse

Old Wilkes County Courthouse. . Constructed in 1902, the original Wilkes County Courthouse is now the Wilkes Heritage Museum, home of the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame. This beaux-arts, neo-classical revival building was designed at the turn of the 20th century by the architectural firm Wheeler and Range of Charlotte. Wheeler crowned the building with a second-empire cupola that was especially popular in western North Carolina municipal buildings at the time. After numerous renovations and additions, the building was painted white to give it a more unified appearance in the 1950s. As the building only housed one courtroom, the county eventually outgrew the space and erected a new courthouse with multiple courtrooms south of this location. In great disrepair, the structure was completely restored in the early 2000s. Home to the Wilkes Heritage Museum, the building serves as a resource center for Wilkes County citizens and visitors. In its 20,000 square feet of exhibit space, the museum collects and preserves historic artifacts and documents and interprets the history of Wilkes County and western North Carolina through exhibits, educational programs, performances, and research., [Captions/timeline] c. 1902-1950 . 1940 Flood . c. 1950s . 1978 Time Capsule Buried . c. 2000s