Douglas County's Two One-Room Courthouses Renovated

DOUGLASVILLE, GA - There's Douglas County's current courthouse, a statuesque columned beauty on Hospital Drive. Then there's the county's historic courthouse downtown that houses the Douglas County Museum.

And then there are two tiny one-room courthouses left from days gone by that recently got a new look. The Middle Courthouse on Post Road and the Chapel Hill Courthouse on Chapel Hill Road are used as voting locations these days, but had fallen on hard times.

The one-room courthouse on Post Road was damaged by an unknown vehicle. Due to the damage, a special order of exterior siding had to be purchased. The county property management also discovered the front door, main beam and the handicap porch had rotted over time. The courthouse was jacked up and the rotted beam was replaced along with other repairs.

The little Chapel Hill Courthouse in front of Chapel Hill Baptist Church was totally renovated on the outside, with a new roof and porch. Several rotted boards and windows were also replaced and the building repainted. A new front door was also installed.

Many years ago, several little courthouses were built across the county - one in each polling district - to serve as polling places, meeting locations and to help citizens conduct business with the county without having to make the trip to "town."

Some have been torn down, but the two little white ones recently renovated, were saved. Both bear plaques from the Douglas County Tourism and Historic Commission that helped identify their historic significance and advised the Douglas County Board of Commissioners who ultimately have control of the buildings.