{"nrhp_refnum":"80000973","name":"Ben Hill County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"E. Central Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Fitzgerald","county":"Ben Hill County","state":"GA","lat":31.714997980000078,"lon":-83.25991134399999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-09-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Economics","Law","Politics/Government","Architecture","Communications"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Neo-Classical county courthouse on East Central Avenue in Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Georgia, built in 1909 at a cost of $45,000 and renovated in 1974. It was designed by H. H. Huggins of Roanoke, Va.","why_significant":"The form describes the courthouse as the center of social activity and the headquarters for a large geographical area. It is presented as a reference point that reveals the community's cultural traditions. Its four Corinthian tetrastyle entrances and grey marble interior are noted as architectural features.","narrative":"Ben Hill County Courthouse, on East Central Avenue in Fitzgerald, Georgia, was built in 1909 for $45,000 to designs by H. H. Huggins of Roanoke, Virginia, with Falls City Construction Co. as contractor. The Neo-Classical building has brick and stone facades and four Corinthian tetrastyle entrances. Their pediments carry foliate designs with central cartouches, Baroque in spirit. Corner pilasters and a balustrade along the roofline add to the exterior, and the cross-shaped plan uses grey marble inside. It stands on the original public square, now a secondary street. The courtroom was renovated in 1974, with a lowered ceiling and covered pilaster tops that the survey considers harmful to its spatial balance. The building is listed because it served as the center of community social activity and as headquarters for a large surrounding area, and because it reflects local cultural traditions. The survey rates its condition as excellent.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"H. H. Huggins, Roanoke, Va.; contractor Falls City Construction Co.","architectural_style":"Neo-Classical","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as excellent; courtroom renovated and modernized in 1974.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:41.164643-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/80000973.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000973/d830842112-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000973/d830842112-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Michael Rivera","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ben_Hill_County_Courthouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Michael Rivera</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:Ben_Hill_County_Courthouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93205852","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Hill_County_Courthouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16966655"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/ben-hill-county/ben-hill-county-courthouse-80000973/"}