The Courthouse's Evolution:

The courthouse in this image from circa 1906 reveals the first round of alterations that transformed the building and the square during the 20th century. In the early 1900s, a "grand" central staircase replaced the two sets of stairs that led to the second-floor courtroom and the square was enhanced with a wrought-iron fence. In June of 1901 the Mildred Lee Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy dedicated the Confederate monument (right), with 200 war veterans in attendance at the unveiling. The U.S. War Department also donated to the UDC two naval cannons from Fort McHenry, Maryland, that had been used during the Civil War.