GeorgiaFitzgerald, the town this courthouse anchors, began in 1895 as an unusual experiment in postwar reconciliation: former Union drummer boy and Indianapolis pension attorney Philander H. Fitzgerald founded it as a Southern colony where aging Union veterans could settle, and thousands came from dozens of states to live alongside Confederate families, even naming their grand hotel the Lee-Grant to honor both sides' commanders. When Ben Hill County was carved out in 1906, the young colony town became its seat. The Neoclassical Revival courthouse that centers the square was completed in 1909 at a cost of about $50,000, designed by Virginia architect Henry H. Huggins, whose plan was chosen over thirteen rivals. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 18, 1980. The building originally carried a clock tower, but the tower later collapsed into the ground-floor lobby around the mid-20th century and was never rebuilt.
Ben Hill County Courthouse (Courthouse)
The stone-and-brick heart of every Georgia county.
Ben Hill County Courthouse is a courthouse in Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County. It is one of 59 historic sites cataloged in Ben Hill County on Georgia Roam.
The site sits at 31.7145, -83.2499 near Fitzgerald. The nearest cataloged historic site is Ben Hill County (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Ben Hill County Jail, Jefferson Davis Memorial State Park, and Fitzgerald.
This record is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
Fitzgerald, the town this courthouse anchors, began in 1895 as an unusual experiment in postwar reconciliation: former Union drummer boy and Indianapolis pension attorney Philander H. Fitzgerald founded it as a Southern colony where aging Union veterans could settle, and thousands came from dozens of states to live alongside Confederate families, even naming their grand hotel the Lee-Grant to honor both sides' commanders. When Ben Hill County was carved out in 1906, the young colony town became its seat. The Neoclassical Revival courthouse that centers the square was completed in 1909 at a cost of about $50,000, designed by Virginia architect Henry H. Huggins, whose plan was chosen over thirteen rivals. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 18, 1980. The building originally carried a clock tower, but the tower later collapsed into the ground-floor lobby around the mid-20th century and was never rebuilt.
Sources: en.wikipedia.orggeorgiaencyclopedia.orggeorgiahistory.com
“Ben Hill County Courthouse” names 2 distinct records in Ben Hill County. This page is the courthouse in Fitzgerald. The others:
Get Georgia Roam — 12,000+ historic sites in your pocket
See this site and every marker, cemetery, courthouse, museum, battlefield and landmark across Georgia on one live map — find what's near you, get directions, and collect sites as you roam.
