{"nrhp_refnum":"77000409","name":"Berrien County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Town Square","address_restricted":false,"city":"Nashville","county":"Berrien County","state":"GA","lat":31.207331301000067,"lon":-83.25257263999998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-12-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick county courthouse on the town square in Nashville, Berrien County, Georgia, built in 1898 to a design by W. Chamberlain of Knoxville, Tennessee.","why_significant":"It is an excellent example of late nineteenth century architecture, with fine brick patterning and pressed metal detailing. It was built as a fireproof building, which was progressive for a small Georgia town in 1898, and was the only brick building in Nashville before 1901. Its records date to 1856, and the square has long been the center of civic and social life in the county.","narrative":"Berrien County's courthouse sits in the middle of the town square in Nashville, Georgia. Designed in 1898 by W. Chamberlain of Knoxville, Tennessee, and built by Hager and Winston for about $17,000, it is a two-story brick building with projecting towers, arched entrances, eight chimneys and a clock tower. Patterned brick, string courses and pressed metal ceilings, wainscoting and cornices give it fine detailing. Construction was meant to be fireproof, using iron beams, steel ceilings and doors, cement floors and a slate roof. About 535,000 bricks were shipped from Macon and nearby sources. It replaced a log courthouse on the same site and was the only brick building in Nashville before 1901. Only minor changes have been made, including a small rear addition around 1900. The square has served as a gathering place for speeches, concerts and community events, and the building holds county records dating to 1856.","period_of_significance":"1898","architect_builder":"W. Chamberlain (W. Chamberlain Company of Knoxville, Tennessee); built by Hager and Winston","architectural_style":"Late nineteenth century architectural design","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied, in good condition and largely unaltered, but described as endangered by deterioration.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:40.662652-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/77000409.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000409/20551527ed-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000409/20551527ed-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Calvin Beale","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Berrien_County_Georgia_Courthouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Calvin Beale</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Berrien_County_Georgia_Courthouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93206976","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berrien_County_Courthouse_(Georgia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17108805"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/berrien-county/berrien-county-courthouse-77000409/"}