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Roberta, Georgia Crawford County Courthouse, Knoxville, Georgia Built: 2001-02 Original Courthouse Built: 1823-1830 In an act of December 23, 1822, the legislature authorized Crawford County’s initial inferior court to select a site to serve as county seat and provide for the construction of a courthouse. The same act provided that until a courthouse could be built, Crawford County courts and elections would be held at the house of Imlay Vansciver. In December 1823, the legislature designated Knoxville as the county seat, and the first courthouse was built. That structure burned in 1829 or 1830. The new structure was completed in January 1832. Since then, there have been numerous repairs and remodeling, with extensive interior renovations and a small addition in the late 1960s. In 2001-02, a new courthouse was built one block behind the old courthouse. The historic structure may become the home of the Crawford County Historical Society. County History: Crawford County is Georgia’s 57th county was created on December 9, 1822, from Houston County, which had been formed from land given up by the Creek Indians in the 1821 Treaty of Indian Springs. The county is named for statesman William Harris Crawford, who served as a U.S. Senator, minister to France, and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury when the county was created. County Seat: Knoxville – Established on the main stagecoach and telegraph route from Washington, D.C., to New Orleans (Federal Road), made Knoxville the natural choice for county seat. In an act of December 10, 1823, the legislature designated Knoxville as the county seat. Knoxville was named for Revolutionary War General Henry Knox (1750-1806) who became the first U.S. Secretary of War in 1789. Photo courtesy of Ed Jackson, Carl Vinson Institute of Georgia, University of Georgia. |
