Forsyth County was formed from the southern half of Stokes County on January 16, 1849. At that time the courts met in Germanton, the county seat of Stokes. The logical site for the new county seat of Forsyth County was Salem, which was located in the center of the new county. However, the Moravian conservatives objected to the disturbances of crowds on court days and the whipping post associated with the jails.
Instead, the Moravians sold the new county seat 51-1/4 acres north of Salem town limits. This was the beginning of Winston.
Francis Fries was one of the 16 gentlemen justices appointed for the new county. A special five-man court was established, with Fries named chairman. This group was the forerunner of the county commissioners. Fries and his group divided the 51-1/4 acres into 71 building lots, but reserved space for a courthouse, a jail, and a poor house. They appropriated $9,000 in 1850 to get the courthouse started.
Francis Fries also designed the first Forsyth County courthouse, shown above. The two-story, brick building, 40 feet by 50 feet, was constructed in the center of a block designated as courthouse square. The building faced south, possibly out of respect for the Moravians, and featured a 12 foot portico across the entire front, with four columns that reached 30 feet to the roof. There was also a steeple.
In the lobby, stairs on either side led to the courtrooms on the second floor. There were three rooms on either side of the building. These were occupied by the register of deeds, sheriff, grand jury, and clerk of court. Two rooms were rented to lawyers as offices.
Courthouse square was bounded by Fourth, Main, Third, and Liberty Streets. In addition to the courthouse, the square contained a fountain, walks, trees, a wall, and a few benches for visitors. The remaining lots were sold to individuals and soon homes and businesses were constructed around courthouse square.
As Winston and Forsyth County grew, so did the need for a larger courthouse. In 1895 residents came to say their good-byes as convict laborers began to demolish the building.
Soon the building was removed, the trees cut down, walks removed, land leveled, brick wall removed and bricks stacked neatly around the square. County offices were moved to nearby buildings and work was started on the new courthouse.
Photographs courtesy of Forsyth County Public Library Photograph Collection.
Note: The actual groundbreaking for the new courthouse took place on February 4th. The ceremony will be shown on the Forsyth County website (forsyth.cc) on February 11th, 1:30 – 2:00.
Stay tuned for the next post on February 17th: Forsyth County Courthouses, Part 3.
