Tyrrell County Courthouse
Why it's listed
Columbia's county courthouse is a two-story brick building completed in 1903 by the B. F. Smith Construction Company for about $15,000. It replaced a building erected in 1801 in what was then Elizabeth Town, and earlier courts met in private homes until 1749. Italianate in character, it has a hipped roof, gabled and parapeted wall dormers on each elevation, a dentil cornice, segmental-arched first-floor windows and round-arched second-floor windows. Unusual corbelled panels emphasize the chimney stacks beside the side frontispieces. Set on an open lot, it is the largest and most impressive building in town and separates the early twentieth century commercial area from the late nineteenth century residential section. The same firm built the Dare, Sampson and Onslow county courthouses, and this is the least altered of those four. Inside, a central hall runs between first-floor offices and a second-floor courtroom. Remodeling has left only the door surrounds and reeded baseboards from the original finish.
Significance in brief: It is the largest and most impressive building in Columbia and marks the dividing line between the early twentieth century commercial area and the late nineteenth century residential section. It was designed and built by the same firm as the Dare, Sampson and Onslow county courthouses, and it is the least altered of these four 1904 structures.
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 79001756, 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 Broad Sts., Columbia |
|---|---|
| County | Tyrrell County |
| Listed | May 10, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79001756 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | B. F. Smith Construction Company |
| Architectural style | Strongly Italianate in character |
| Areas of significance | Politics/Government, Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The interior has been recently remodeled and a new flat-roof porch replaces an earlier one. The courthouse is still the county's courthouse. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Columbia Historic District |
| Coordinates | 35.91764, -76.25218 (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 79001756.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q20679851
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.