Prince Georges County Courthouse Historic District

Prince George County's government center sits on both sides of a sharp bend in State Route 106. The district groups eleven contributing buildings, two noncontributing buildings and three memorials. The court buildings stand on the north side of the road, with privately owned buildings to the south, including an 1870s store and a Victorian residence. The brick 1883 courthouse, designed by F.L. Leavenworth, reflects temple-form courthouse design and is considered an early Colonial Revival example. Nearby are the 1900 clerk's office, now a library, a former jail, and a 1935 office building. A 1920s bungalow was later adapted for county offices. Memorials honor those lost in the Civil War, both World Wars, Korea and Vietnam. The district matters because the county lost its earlier courthouse when Union troops burned it in 1864. Court sessions then met in private homes and temporary buildings until a permanent seat was rebuilt, and the complex kept growing through 1952.