{"nrhp_refnum":"80001245","name":"Tift County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Courthouse Sq.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Tifton","county":"Tift County","state":"GA","lat":31.45440640100003,"lon":-83.50781866299997,"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 county courthouse on Courthouse Square in Tifton, Tift County, Georgia, built in 1912 to designs by W. A. Edwards, with J. F. Jenkins & Co. as contractor. It is a brick building with stone trim and an H-shaped floor plan.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it one of the few examples of Beaux Arts Classicism among Georgia courthouses and notes that its sculptured lion heads have no counterpart elsewhere. The building is well kept, and its style was echoed in the city high school built in the 1920s, which shows its importance to local residents.","narrative":"Tift County's courthouse, completed in 1912 on Courthouse Square in Tifton, is a cream-colored brick building with stone trim and an H-shaped floor plan. Its most distinctive feature is a two-story Ionic tetrastyle entrance of white stone columns, with the words Tift County Courthouse cut in stone above them. At the roofline, a cartouche is flanked by roaring lion heads, which the nomination describes as unique among Georgia courthouses. Decorative brick patterns, corner quoins and heavy bracketed lintels add texture to the walls. Inside, marble wainscoting lines the walls, and the courtroom has Ionic pilasters alternating with round arched windows, while Corinthian columns frame the judge's bench. Architect William A. Edwards, who worked in Atlanta after 1908, designed it in the Beaux Arts Classicism style, which is rare among the state's courthouses. The building is listed in excellent condition. When the city high school was built in the 1920s, its architect echoed the courthouse's materials and massing.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Architect W. A. Edwards; contractor J. F. Jenkins & Co.","architectural_style":"Beaux Arts Classicism","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in excellent condition and described as well kept; it is the center of county government.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:40.106954-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/80001245.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80001245/490cceada4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80001245/490cceada4-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Calvin Beale","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tift_County_Georgia_Couthouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Calvin Beale</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tift_County_Georgia_Couthouse.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"08000355","name":"Tifton Residential Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/georgia/tifton-residential-historic-district-08000355/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93206624","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tift_County_Courthouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7801297"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/tift-county/tift-county-courthouse-80001245/"}