{"nrhp_refnum":"70000226","name":"Old White County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"On GA 115","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cleveland","county":"White County","state":"GA","lat":34.59814817900008,"lon":-83.78129380199994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1970-10-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Commerce","Education","Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story red brick county courthouse in the center of the town square in Cleveland, White County, Georgia, begun in 1859 and completed in 1860. Contractor Edwin Pore Williams built it, with woodwork by William Houston.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as a very good example of Georgian Colonial style, built just before the Civil War, with a simple and largely unaltered exterior and interior. It also reflects the Georgia courthouse-square town plan and the medieval practice of combining court and market-house functions. It served as the county's civic center until 1965 and is now leased to the White County Historical Society.","narrative":"Standing in the middle of the town square in Cleveland, Georgia, the old White County Courthouse is a two-story building of locally made red brick, started in 1859 and finished in 1860. Its walls are twelve inches thick, and its features include a molded-brick cornice, twin end chimneys and heart-pine floors. Edwin Pore Williams was the contractor, and William Houston of Cleveland handled the woodwork. The nomination describes the design as a very good example of Georgian Colonial style, with few exterior changes beyond the removal of an outside stairway. The courthouse reflects Georgia's courthouse-square town planning. The upper floor held the courtroom, while the lower floor housed county offices and, at times, a shoe shop, a doctor's office, a newspaper print shop and a public school class. After county offices moved out in 1965, the White County Historical Society leased the building and uses it for meetings, exhibits and open houses.","period_of_significance":"19th and 20th Century (specific dates: 1860; 1965; 1970-71 restoration)","architect_builder":"Edwin Pore Williams, contractor; William Houston, woodwork","architectural_style":"Georgian Colonial","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition rated good; structural integrity considered excellent. Leased to the White County Historical Society since 1965, when county offices moved to a new building; restoration in 1970-71.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:40.225449-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/70000226.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000226/e07b4b12ed-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000226/e07b4b12ed-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jerrye &amp; Roy Klotz, MD","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OLD_WHITE_COUNTY_COURTHOUSE,_WHITE_COUNTY,_GA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jerrye &amp;amp; Roy Klotz, MD</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OLD_WHITE_COUNTY_COURTHOUSE,_WHITE_COUNTY,_GA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93209905","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_White_County_Courthouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16896141"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/white-county/old-white-county-courthouse-70000226/"}