Hoke County Courthouse
Why it's listed
Hoke County was formed in 1911 from parts of Cumberland and Robeson counties, with Raeford named as county seat. Until a courthouse existed, the county rented a store building for public business, and early court terms reportedly met in the Raeford Institute auditorium. The commissioners hired the Washington, D.C., firm Milburn and Heister and issued $57,000 in bonds. J. A. Jones of Charlotte built the three-story tan brick structure, finished in 1912. It rests on a high ashlar base and has a tetrastyle pedimented Ionic portico, stone lintels and sills, and a modillion and dentil cornice under a hipped roof. Inside, halls cross at the center, and the second-floor courtroom keeps its coffered pressed tin ceiling, pilasters, wooden bench screen, multi-globe light fixtures and many original furnishings. Set in a landscaped square among one- and two-story commercial buildings, it dominates Raeford's downtown and remains in use as the county courthouse.
Significance in brief: The courthouse was built for the newly formed Hoke County (created 1911) and has served continuously as its seat of government. It is a work of the architectural firm Milburn and Heister, who designed several North Carolina courthouses of the period. It is the most prominent building in Raeford in scale and design, and its second-floor courtroom remains remarkably unaltered.
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 79001725, listed May 10, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Main and Edenborough Sts., Raeford |
|---|---|
| County | Hoke County |
| Listed | May 10, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79001725 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Milburn and Heister of Washington, D.C. (architects); J. A. Jones of Charlotte (contractor) |
| Architectural style | Neo-Classical Revival |
| Areas of significance | Landscape Architecture, Politics/Government, Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Completed in 1912 and still in use as the county courthouse; the courtroom has remained remarkably unaltered. |
| Acreage | 1.2 |
| Coordinates | 34.98072, -79.22171 (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 79001725.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q19462358
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.