Brooks County is named for Preston Smith Brooks, who was a United States congressman from South Carolina.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Colquitt County and Cook County
E – Lowndes County
S – Madison County, Florida and Jefferson County, Florida
W – Thomas County
Created: December 11, 1858
County Seat:
Quitman 1859 – present
County Courthouse – Quitman
Location: 1 Screven Street / North Court Street
Built: 1859 – 1864
Style: Italian Renaissance Revival and Romanesque Revival
Architect: John Wind
Contractor: John Wind and Charles H Remington
Description: The building faces south and is a three story stone structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Quitman. The south front has a projecting section with two arches on the first story with recessed entrance. Above the twin arches are two pedimented windows. A foliate design graces each pediment. The whole entrance bay has quoins and is capped by a pediment with a lunette. Beneath this pediment is a delicate garland design in plaster. On the center of the roof is a square clock tower. The roof is sloped. In the interior, the entrance encloses a staircase leading to the County Superior Court courtroom on the second story. In the courtroom the ceiling has been lowered, the earred moldings of the window have been cut. Some tiny, solid colored panes of glass remain. The building houses the County Superior Court, County State Court, County Juvenile Court and County Probate Court of the 2nd Judicial District. The building was extensively remodeled in 1892. The architect was Bruce & Morgan and the contractor was James Smith. The building was remodeled in 1967 to 1968. Further remodeling was completed in 2003. The architect was Jim Jamison of Quoin Design Group and the contractor was Hutchinson Construction Inc.
See: The courthouse resembles courthouses built in Thomas County (1858) and Bibb County (1829). The old County Jail is located at 200 South Madison Street to southwest of the courthouse
See: National Register of Historic Places – Brooks county Courthouse
See: The 2nd Judicial District includes Atkinson County, Baker County. Berrien County, Calhoun County, Clay County, Clinch County, Colquitt County, Cook County, Decatur County, Dougherty County, Early County, Echols County, Grady County, Irwin County, Lanier County, Lowndes County, Miller County, Mitchell County, Quitman County, Randolph County, Seminole County, Terrell County, Thomas County, Tift County, Turner County and Worth County
History: The county was created in 1859 and Quitman was selected as the county seat in 1859. The first court met at the home of Thomas Folsom in Quitman. The first courthouse was a temporary structure built in 1858. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1859 to 1864 at a cost of $14,985, Confederate money. The first contractor died in 1862. Due to the shortage of material and labor only two courthouses were built in Georgia during the Civil War, the other being in Banks County.
County Courthouse – Quitman
County Superior Court courtroom
Remodel 1892
Remodel 1967 – 1968
Photos taken 2009