{"nrhp_refnum":"80000980","name":"Burke County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Courthouse Sq.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Waynesboro","county":"Burke County","state":"GA","lat":33.090702555000064,"lon":-82.01567400299996,"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":"Burke County Courthouse is a brick county courthouse on Courthouse Square in Waynesboro, Burke County, Georgia, built in 1857 with a clock tower and later additions from 1899-1900 and 1939-40.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it one of four Georgia courthouses built in the 1850s that still serves its original use. Additions over the years have kept a unified appearance, and it is a visual focal point in the center of town. Its red cement-like finish scored to look like brick is not found on any other Georgia courthouse.","narrative":"Burke County Courthouse, on Courthouse Square in Waynesboro, Georgia, was built in 1857 and has grown through several additions. The original building is red brick covered with a gritty, red cement-like coating scored to resemble precise brickwork. It has a round-arched entry, arched triplet windows on the second floor, a brick stringcourse, stone trim and square brackets at the roofline. A Victorian clock tower rises in five stages at the northwest corner, ending in a pyramidal cap. Additions were made in 1899-1900, and a neo-classical annex was joined to the rear by open bridges in 1940. Inside, the second-floor courtroom retains kneed door and window moldings and original beaded ceiling boards with pendants above a lowered ceiling. The courthouse was listed as one of four Georgia courthouses from the 1850s still used for their original purpose. Its scored finish is unique among the state's courthouses, and its central position makes it a focal point in town.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Original architect/builder unknown; D. B. Plumb (interior painters, queried); 1899-1900 additions by architect L. F. Goodrich with contractor Mr. Blair of Macon","architectural_style":"Carpenter Romanesque style with Victorian clock tower; neo-classical annex","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition rated fair; still in use as a courthouse, with all levels of court held there per a 1979 letter. The first-floor interior is described as dark and showing signs of neglect.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:40.284895-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/80000980.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000980/2ea063465d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000980/2ea063465d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Stephen Matthew Milligan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Burke_County_Courthouse;_Waynesboro,_Georgia;_April_16,_2011.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Stephen Matthew Milligan</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:Burke_County_Courthouse;_Waynesboro,_Georgia;_April_16,_2011.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"09000153","name":"Waynesboro Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/georgia/waynesboro-historic-district-09000153/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93205896","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burke_County_Courthouse_(Georgia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4998933"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/burke-county/burke-county-courthouse-80000980/"}