Cherokee County Courthouse – Murphy, North Carolina (1892-1895)

The Background

The following article was published in The State Chronicle in 1890, and includes an illustration and description of the Cherokee County Courthouse in Murphy, North Carolina, designed by Bruce & Morgan.

A vernacular interpretation of the Romanesque Revival style, the building depicted in the illustration appears to be a competent effort by A.C. Bruce, and an updated version of his plan for the Newton County Courthouse in Covington, Georgia, completed in 1884.

The only questionable elements in the otherwise cohesive composition are the odd pediment and oversized half-round window above the entrance portico. This wasn’t an exceptional design, by any means, but generally well-proportioned and tastefully executed.

The article states that the county’s leaders were unsure whether the courthouse should be built of brick with marble trimmings or “an entire marble face,” a preposterous question for a rural jurisdiction in the Deep South.

Marble was so cost-prohibitive in the late 19th century that even Atlantans couldn’t afford it as a primary building material, much less the inhabitants of a dirt-poor county in the hills of Carolina.

Unsurprisingly, the finished courthouse was primarily built with pressed brick, while the foundation and steps were composed of marble.¹ The initial cost of the project was reported as $21,500² by one source and $22,575³ by another, but other reports estimated it at $40,000.^{4 5 6}

It’s difficult to find a definitive date for the building’s completion, but the cornerstone was laid in July 1891,⁷ and most sources state it was finished in 1892, which would be a reasonable timeframe.

Despite this article’s claim that the courthouse would “stand the storm of ages”, the building was destroyed by fire on December 13, 1895,⁸ less than four years after its completion, although the outer walls were left intact.⁹

In early 1896, Bruce & Morgan were hired as architects for the building’s replacement,¹⁰ and it appears they essentially replicated the previous design.

The rebuilt courthouse was also destroyed by fire on January 16, 1926,^{11 12}and replaced with an entirely new structure.^{13 14}

So much for it being “a monument for centuries to come.”

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Murphy’s New Court House.

The State Chronicle is glad to be able to present to its readers to day a picture of the new Court House which the Commissioners and Magistrates of Cherokee county have decided to erect at Murphy. It will be a handsome building and an ornament to the town and county, as well as its best advertisement. It is to have a face and trimmings of marble quarried from the Cherokee county quarries. Marble of almost every shade of color is found in Cherokee, and the Western North Carolina Railroad runs in such close proximity to the marble as to enable parties to load it directly from the quarries into the cars. A marble Court House will advertise this marble better than an hundred agents and an hundred newspapers. The Commissioners and Magistrates have not exactly determined whether it shall have an entire marble face, and have advertised for bids with the marble face and only with marble trimming. But they have decided to build it, and it is a decision in which the entire State is interested. It shows that we are going forward. As the Murphy Bulletin well and truly put it: “The Court House will stand the storm of ages and retain its original beauty and magnificence.” The Commissioners and Magistrates have acted wisely, and the Chronicle rejoices that a spirit of faith in the glorious future of their county has been present with them. This marble Court House will be a monument for centuries to come of the wisdom of the men now living in Cherokee.¹⁵

References

1. “State News.” The Weekly Review (Reidsville, North Carolina). January 21, 1891, p. 7. ↩︎
2. “Around Town.” Asheville Daily Citizen (Asheville, North Carolina), January 12, 1891, p. 4. ↩︎
3. “State News.” The Weekly Review (Reidsville, North Carolina). January 21, 1891, p. 7. ↩︎
4. “Building Notes.” The Atlanta Constitution, February 21, 1890, p. 5. ↩︎
5. “Murphy’s Marble Court House.” Asheville Daily Citizen (Asheville, North Carolina). December 14, 1895, p. 1. ↩︎
6. “To Rebuild the Court House.” Asheville Daily Citizen (Asheville, North Carolina), January 7, 1896, p. 1. ↩︎
7. “Murphy’s Barbecue.” Asheville Daily Citizen (Asheville, North Carolina), July 18, 1891, p. 1. ↩︎
8. “Murphy’s Marble Court House.” Asheville Daily Citizen (Asheville, North Carolina). December 14, 1895, p. 1. ↩︎
9. “Cherokee County Court House Swept By Disastrous Fire for Second Time In History, Damage Believed $100,000.” The Sunday Citizen (Asheville, North Carolina), January 17, 1926, p. 20. ↩︎
10. “To Rebuild the Court House.” Asheville Daily Citizen (Asheville, North Carolina), January 7, 1896, p. 1. ↩︎
11. “Cherokee Courthouse Is Destroyed By Fire”. The Charlotte News (Charlotte, North Carolina), January 16, 1926, p. 1. ↩︎
12. “Cherokee County Court House Swept By Disastrous Fire for Second Time In History, Damage Believed $100,000.” The Sunday Citizen (Asheville, North Carolina), January 17, 1926, p. 20. ↩︎
13. “Start Plans For Cherokee Courthouse”. The Asheville Times (Asheville, North Carolina), January 22, 1926, p. 18. ↩︎
14. “New Courthouse Will Be Built In Cherokee County”. Salisbury Evening Post (Salisbury, North Carolina), January 28, 1926, p. 6. ↩︎
15. The State Chronicle (Raleigh, North Carolina), March 11, 1890, p. 3. ↩︎