Alachua County | US Courthouses

Alachua County is named for either the Muskogee or Timucua Native American word meaning “sinkhole”.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Columbia County, Union County and Bradford County

E – Clay County and Putnam County

S – Marion County and Levy County

W – Gilchrist County

Created: February 29, 1824

County Seat:

St. Augustine ( St. Johns ) 1824 – 1839

Newnanville 1839 – 1853

Gainesville 1853 – present

County Courthouse – Gainesville

Location: 201 East University Avenue / SE 3rd Street

Built: 1978 – 1979

Style: Modern

Architect: Craig, Balley & Associates of Gainesville

Contractor: Charles R Perry Construction, Inc. of Gainesville

Description: The building faces west and is a four story concrete and glass structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Gainesville and has a number of protruding sections with vertical concrete divisions and horizontal bands. The fourth story extends out from the main building. The west front has a large central glass wall above the entrance. In the interior are nine courtrooms. The building houses the County Circuit Court – Civil of the 8th Judicial Circuit and County Court.The building is named as the Judicial Building.

County Criminal Justice Courthouse – Gainesville

Location: 220 South Main Street / SW 2nd Avenue

Built: 2003 – 2004

Style: Modern

Architect: DLR Group of Orlando

Contractor: PPI Construction Management of Gainesville

Description: The building faces east and is a five story buff colored brick, concrete and glass structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Gainesville. The main building on the west has vertical dividers between the windows with the stories below the fifth story projecting. The entrance section extends eastwards to the street line. In the interior are eleven courtrooms. The building houses the County Circuit Court – Criminal of the 8th Judicial Circuit and County Court. The building is named as the Criminal Justice Center.

Old County Courthouse – Gainesville

Location: 12 SE 1st Avenue / South Main Street

Built: 1957 – 1958

Style: Modern / Art Deco

Architect: Arthur L Campbell Jr. of Campbell, O’Kelly & May

Contractor: H H Parrish and M M Parrish

Description: The building faces east and is a four story concrete and glass structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Gainesville. The east front has a central glass entrance on the first story, A high concrete clock tower rises towards the north section. The large windows are horizontal. On the northwest a two story wing extends west. In the interior is the lion statue from the 1885 courthouse. The building houses county offices. An extension was added on the north side in 1962. The architect was Arthur L Campbell Jr. of Haines & O’Kelly and the contractor was Arnold & Wright, Inc. The building served as courthouse from 1958 until 1978.

See: The 8th Judicial Circuit includes Baker County, Bradford County, Gilchrist County, Levy County and Union County.

See: The county is located in the First Judicial District of the Court of Appeal – First Judicial District located in Tallahassee.

History: The county was created in 1834 and St. Augustine ( Saint Johns County) was the location of the court until Newnansville became the county seat in 1838. Court continued to meet in St Augustine in Saint Johns County until the county was organized in 1853. A land office was built in 1842 and the first courthouse was built in Newnansville in 1850. The county seat was moved to Gainesville in 1853. The second courthouse was a frame structure erected in 1856. The third courthouse was a three story brick structure built in 1885 to 1886 at a cost of $31,000. The architect was H J Campbell and the contractor was H Murphy and H W Roberts. The courthouse was demolished in 1958. The fourth courthouse was built in 1956 to 1958 at a cost of $348,627. The fifth and present courthouse was constructed in 1978 to 1979. The County Criminal Justice Center was constructed in 2003 to 2004.