Anderson County Courthouse 1828-1897 / 101 S. Main Street
City Directories and History: By an act of the South Carolina legislature signed on Dec. 20, 1826, Pendleton District was divided into two counties: Anderson and Pickens, named for the popular Revolutionary soldiers, Colonel Robert Anderson and General Andrew Pickens, who had received military grants in the region at the time it was opened for settlement. In October 1828, these counties became circuit court districts. The new courthouse which had been contracted for Pendleton was abandoned and the money divided between Pickens and Anderson for their courthouses. Since the town of Pendleton fell within the limits of Anderson District, the records of Pendleton were delivered to the new county seat – the village of Anderson – in 1827. The building that was to be the Pendleton Courthouse became Farmer’s Hall, the headquarters of the Pendleton Farmer’s Society.
The commissioners named to select a centrally located site for the new Anderson District courthouse were James Harrison, Robert B. Norris, Matthew Gambrell, John C. Griffin, and William Sherard. The story goes that, unable to choose between a site near the present Whitehall Road and one where Orr-Lyons Mills are now located, they stopped for refreshments at French’s Store just off the old General’s Road which ran along what is now Anderson’s Main Street. Walking a short distance from the spring beside the tavern, Mr. Norris planted his heavy walking stick under a towering walnut tree and exclaimed: “There shall be the southeast corner of the courthouse, and who says ‘no’ has got me to whip!”
The commissioners brought one hundred and thirty acres and planned the town of Anderson around a square for business with three blocks in each direction within. The four boundary streets, thinking this would give the new town plenty of room for growth. On the square a brick courthouse was erected by Robert Wilson, a brick mason of Greenville, as subcontractor from Benjamin Denham. The first county officers were J.T. Lewis, clerk of court; George Foster, sheriff; John Harris, ordinary; Joseph Shanklin, commissioner in equity; James Donthit, tax collector. The first court was held October 15, 1828, Judge John S. Richardson presiding.
The first courthouse was a simple brick courthouse, centered in the public square, and was erected in 1826. The exterior of the brick structure was plastered in 1851, and, in 1852, a portico with four large columns was added to each end, giving it a Greek Revival appearance. A belfry and bell was added to the western end at a cost of $2,500. There were two curving flights of ornamental iron stairs at both entrances from the ground to the second story, which was the courthouse. Doors beneath the stairs opened into the first floor which contained offices. The windows were large and arched. A clock was placed in its steeple in 1877. The building was razed in 1897, and the second courthouse was erected on the same site in 1898.
Anderson County Courthouse 1898-1939
A move for a new courthouse took form in 1883, when the county board of commissioners was authorized to sell the old building and lot at their discretion and to invest the proceeds in a suitable lot and building. Apparently the matter rested until 1896, when a one-mill property tax was authorized for a six-year period to finance a new building. In 1897 the matter was referred to the voters, and as a result, the old building was demolished and the present courthouse was erected on the same site.
Architect, Frank Pierce Milburn designed this building in 1898.
Dedication ceremonies were held on June 27, 1898, with great festivity and many speeches. J.L. Tribble, chairman of the committee on arrangements, eloquently paid tribute to the new Court House: “The fullness of time came and out past chagrin at the appearance of the old gives way before our joy and admiration of this beautiful temple of justice which stands a thing of beauty and joy forever…You have a building of which you may all be justly proud. It is modern – and it has no mortgage on it – tasteful and attractive, beautiful for symmetry, built out of first class materials from the first brick to the final one that crowns the tower. It is of that style of architecture somewhat of the composite order – Americanized.” (Source: Anderson County Sketches, The Anderson County Tricentennial Committee, 1969.)
Anderson County Courthouse 1939-present
The west side of the courthouse was drastically altered in 1939. At that time, a tower on its right side was demolished and replaced with a wing identical to the left side. The Romanesque entrance facing the square was also removed.
On February 23, 1978, the Anderson Downtown Historical District was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The Courthouse is included in the district.
A third courthouse was constructed facing the west side of the second courthouse.
While Cashier’s Valley belongs to North Carolina, it was General Andrew Pickens who originated the name, and he lived in Pendleton District, of which Anderson County is a large part. It seems that after General Andrew Pickens went to live at Tennessee, he sent large herds of cattle, horses, sheep, hogs, and even flocks of wild turkeys during the hot summer up to graze in the mountain valleys where the grass was lush. Among them were two obstreperous bulls, which he named Cassius and Brutus. Cassius often when brought back to the plantation would break out and return to “the valley.” So, General Pickens and his men got in the habit of XI: 61 calling it Cassius Valley. Then some people started saying, Cash’s Valley, and then “iers” somehow got added, and now we have Cashier’s Valley.
(Information from: Names in South Carolina by C.H. Neuffer, Published by the S.C. Dept. of English, USC)
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