5. Tazewell Courthouse
State legislation enacted on December 27, 1838, designated Tazewell as the county seat. The Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) also directed that a courthouse be built there.
In 1845, a devastating fire burned this building to the ground. In 1848, the county built the sturdy heart-pine courthouse that we see today. Costing $1,637, this two -story building is the only wooden county courthouse in Georgia still standing. It has a full width one-story porch supported by wooden posts. The courthouse was only used as the seat of government for two years before the Georgia General Assembly required that each county seat be located at the center of the respective county. Thus in 1850, the county seat was moved to Buena Vista.
Old Courthouse, Tazewell, Marion County, Ga. Photograph courtesy of David Rush, 2016.
The Freemasons Society has used the top floor of the Tazewell Courthouse for over 165 years. In 1838, the Masons requested to be chartered at this building by the Grand Lodge of Georgia and were issued a charter on November 7 in the name of Marion Lodge No. 14. The Masons eventually purchased the courthouse from Marion County in 1850. In 2016, the lodge had a membership of 29 men making this antebellum building an active center in the community of Tazewell.
Submission composed by Stephen Graziano, April 15, 2016
References and Further Reading
Grand Lodge of Georgia. "Masonic Messenger." December 2013. Accessed March 24, 2016.
National Register of Historic Places, Old Marion County Courthouse, Tazewell, Georgia, National Register #80001116.