Charlton County Courthouse
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Approximate location: the National Park Service places this pin arbitrarily within the property, not at a surveyed point (stated accuracy ±12 m).
Why it's listed
Charlton County Courthouse in Folkston, Georgia, is a two-story, box-like brick and stone building completed in 1928. A pedimented central portico with paired Ionic columns in antis is flanked by brick wings with stone quoins. Windows have simple architrave moldings, and a stone balustrade tops the front facade while a brick parapet crowns the sides and rear. The building sits on axis at the end of a main downtown street. It is the county's fourth courthouse. The county seat moved from Traders Hill to Folkston in 1901, and a courthouse received by the county in September 1902 burned on February 19, 1928, leading to this replacement on the same site. Built for about $46,000, with a clock costing extra, it reflects the Neoclassical courthouses of the 1920s, here with Georgian Revival detailing. It also serves as the repository of marriage, will and land records that chronicle the county. An annex was being added to the rear at the time of the survey.
Significance in brief: The courthouse is one of several variations on the Neoclassical theme built in the 1920s to replace earlier courthouses on the same sites, here with Georgian Revival detailing. It is the county's fourth courthouse and holds the records of marriages, wills and land transactions, making it a focal point of community life.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 80000987, listed September 18, 1980. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Off GA 40, Folkston |
|---|---|
| County | Charlton County |
| Listed | September 18, 1980 |
| Reference number | 80000987 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Contractor: Basil P. Kennard; architect listed as Benjamin (name incomplete in the text) |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical |
| Areas of significance | Economics, Law, Politics/Government, Architecture, Communications |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition is marked good; an annex is being added to the rear of the building. |
| Acreage | 1 |
| Coordinates | 30.83185, -82.00498 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 80000987.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q26844661
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.