Moultrie Commercial Historic District

Downtown Moultrie's commercial core is a compact grid of brick storefronts centered on the Colquitt County courthouse square. The settlement began in 1859 at the crossroads of two early roads, and the district includes 61 contributing resources along with a few industrial and railroad-related buildings, such as the depot and People's Warehouse, just beyond the core. Most buildings are one or two stories, with shared party walls and decorative brick cornices. Several freestanding landmarks add variety: the 1902 Neoclassical Revival courthouse, the 1908 Colonial Revival Carnegie Library, the castellated 1915 jail, the 1917 Federal Building, a Beaux Arts bank, and Art Deco buildings including the Colquitt Theater. The district was listed for its architecture and for what it shows about local commerce and transportation. After the railroad arrived in 1893, Moultrie grew into a regional trade center supported by turpentine, lumber, textile and meat packing industries. The surviving buildings still convey that period of growth, which lasted from the turn of the century to the late 1930s.