GeorgiaWilkinson County lay directly in the path of the right wing of Sherman's March to the Sea in November 1864, when Union troops under General Jefferson C. Davis's corps occupied Irwinton and burned the county's antebellum courthouse — one in a punishing series of fires (1829, 1854, 1864, and 1924) that repeatedly destroyed the seat's public buildings and records. The present Wilkinson County Courthouse, a Colonial Revival landmark of red brick, was erected in 1924 after the last of those blazes consumed its predecessor. Irwinton has served as the county seat since Wilkinson County was created in 1803, and the courthouse remains the working center of local government on the square. Its much-rebuilt history makes it a striking example of a central Georgia county whose story has been written — and repeatedly erased — by fire and war.
Wilkinson County Courthouse
The stone-and-brick heart of every Georgia county.
Wilkinson County Courthouse is a courthouse in Irwinton, Wilkinson County. It is one of 78 historic sites cataloged in Wilkinson County on Georgia Roam.
The site sits at 32.8107, -83.1738 near Irwinton. The nearest cataloged historic site is George Henry Carswell (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Wilkinson County, The March to the Sea, and Harvill Cemetery.
This record is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
Wilkinson County lay directly in the path of the right wing of Sherman's March to the Sea in November 1864, when Union troops under General Jefferson C. Davis's corps occupied Irwinton and burned the county's antebellum courthouse — one in a punishing series of fires (1829, 1854, 1864, and 1924) that repeatedly destroyed the seat's public buildings and records. The present Wilkinson County Courthouse, a Colonial Revival landmark of red brick, was erected in 1924 after the last of those blazes consumed its predecessor. Irwinton has served as the county seat since Wilkinson County was created in 1803, and the courthouse remains the working center of local government on the square. Its much-rebuilt history makes it a striking example of a central Georgia county whose story has been written — and repeatedly erased — by fire and war.
Sources: georgiaencyclopedia.orgwilkinsoncounty.netvanishinggeorgia.comcourthouses.co
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