Dorchester County is named for the town of Dorchester in Massachusetts.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
E – Berkeley County and Charleston County
W – Colleton County
Created: February 25, 1897 
County Seat:
St. George 1897 – present
County Courthouse – St. George
Location: 5200 East Jim Bilton Boulevard / Dutch Krakell Road
Built: 2007 – 2009
Style: Modern
Architect: Stevens & Wilkinson Inc of Columbia
Contractor: LCM Contractors, Inc.
Description: The building faces south and is a two story dark red colored brick, glass and concrete structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds on the east side of the center of St. George with a pond on the south side of the building. The south front has a large portico with six columns rising to a wide pediment at the roof line and with recessed glass paneled wall. The large windows are arched. A white colored band runs along the flat roof line. The building houses the County Circuit Court, County Probate Court and County Magistrate Court of the 1st Judicial Circuit. The grounds were designed by Southeastern Design & Development of Summerville.
Old County Courthouse – St. George
Location: 101 Ridge Street / Railroad Avenue
Built: 1964 – 1965
Style: Classical Revival
Architect: Unknown
Contractor: Unknown
Description: The building faces east and is a two story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of St. George. The building has the center section protruding and the north and south wings being lower. The front has vertical white square columns rising to a wide band below the eaves. The wings has white colored stone corner pieces. The roof is hipped with flat roofs on the wings.
See: The 1st Judicial Circuit includes Calhoun County and Orangeburg County.
History: The county was created in 1897 and St. George was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was built by J W McKiever in 1898 and an addition was designed by Charles C Wilson and built in 1922. The second courthouse was constructed in 1964 to 1965. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 2007 to 2009.
County Administration Building – St. George
Location: 201 Johnson Street / Ridge Street
Built: 1927 – 1928
Style: Classical Revival
Architect: J B Urquhart
Contractor: J T Dubbs
Description: The building faces west and is a two story red colored brick and concrete structure. The building was constructed as the St. George High School and is located on landscaped grounds in the center of St. George. The east and west wings project from the main section of the building. On the north side is the modern one story complex which was the Sr. George Elementary School constructed in 1972. The architect was James Durrant of James & Matthews of Sumter and the contractor was W E Tulluck, Inc. or Orangeburg. On the north side is the modern Kenneth F Wagoner Service Center constructed in 2001. The architect was John G Dumas of Southeastern Design and Development, In. and the contractor was Martin Engineering Inc..
County Courthouse – St. George
Old County Courthouse – St. George
County Administration Building – St. George
County Services Center – St. George
Photos taken 2008 and 2014