Here we are at the beginning of another contest that will reveal who knows the most about the architecture of the Magnolia State. Review the rules for this contest by clicking here
Hint to get you started: This building still stands in a town that has gotten a lot of attention recently.
Categories: Contest, Courthouses, Greenville
Preservation in Mississippi 
Washington County Courthouse in Greenville
This is a really unique courthouse and one of the state’s few examples of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture. I believe it was originally completed sometime in the 1890s, with the tower scaled back more recently. It has a more recent addition to the rear and is surprisingly removed from the center of town.
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Congratulations to new commenter Joseph A, and two points for you! Welcome from over on Flickr too–Joseph A’s photography has graced the pages of Preservation in Mississippi a few times, I believe, through the generosity of the Creative Commons system.
Still some points out there for other readers: architect(s), builder(s) and any other Richardsonian Romanesque buildings in the state?
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Has anyone seen it (Washington County Courthouse) from the other angle?
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Yes, and it is not so impressive as the original because the renovations did not take into account the original architectual style.
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Lots of us look less good from the rear than we do from the front–no reason to be mean about it, Theodore . . .
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There is an arboretum, the earliest in the state, on the grounds of the courthouse dating to 1895. I believe the courthouse itself was erected 1890-91 and the tower was ‘diminished’ during a renovation in the 1930s.
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Well, I learned something new today–did not know this, but sure enough, there’s a historic marker to prove it. And we all know historic markers can’t be wrong ;-)
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Since no one has responded to Malvaney’s prompting, other Romanesque buildings include the Oxford City Hall, formerly the post office, and the Tallahatchie County Courthouse in Sumner.
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Thank you Theodore! A point for you too. Now we have a contest!
If only someone knew the architect or better yet, the builder.
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It was designated a Mississippi landmark in 1989; it was built in 1890.
I have a picture of the cornerstone, but it is very hard to read. The parts I can make out:
“Dedicated to justice, [date obscured], John M. Ware, Grand Master, Laid by W[m?] Cross, D.D.C.M.”
There is other writing above this, but it is much smaller so even more obscured in my picture.
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Is Ware the architect and Cross the builder?
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No, those are just Masonic guys.
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Welcome to the party, Carunzel! And congrats on grabbing a point late in the game for the cornerstone date (I think it didn’t actually open until 1891, but that’s getting into semantics, I suppose) and the Mississippi Landmark info.
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WOW! This information was really hard to dig up, but I finally found it in the brochure called Greenville points of interest / compiled by Washington School Chapter, Mississippi Junior Historical Society:
“The architects for the building were McDonald Bros., and the builder was John F. Barnes.”
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You get a special “Attaboy”! I wish I could give you an extra point because I know how hard that information is to find, unless you’re standing in front of the cornerstone. Thanks for going the extra mile!
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