Pontotoc County Courthouse - Pontotoc Historic District - Pontotoc, MS - NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings on Waymarking.com

County of courthouse: Pontotoc County
Location of courthouse: Washington St. & Main St., Pontotoc
Built: 1916
Architect: N. W. Overstreet, A. I. A. Jackson, MS and Mahan & Broadwell of Memphis, TN
Phone: 662-489-3921
Restoration 2006: Belinda Stewart Architects

"78. (C) 12 Washington Street
Pontotoc County Courthouse
Brick, tripartite building. Center section is three stories over basement with red tile deck-on-hip roof fronted by a colonnade of four Tuscan columns flanked by two piers which are linked by a low wall. These elements are composed of blocks of glazed terra-cotta. The first floor is reached by a broad flight of steps. The facade is divided into bays by pilasters that reflect the columns. The three center bays were originally double-leaf doors, but the outside bays have been enclosed with tinted plate glass windows. The center bay has double-leaf tinted glass and bronzed metal doors. Over each doorway is a bust in glazed terra-cotta of Blind Justice. All windows are 1/1 DHW. The attic story (3rd floor) is divided into openings by four short piers which correspond to the four columns of the colonnade. Two clock faces occupy the space on each end of the attic story. A modillioned entablature separates the colonnade from the attic story. The two end sections of the building are two stories over a basement with deck-on-hip red tile roofs and pilasters which divide the facade into bays of 1/1 DH double windows. A modillioned cornice tops all three sections of the building. All of the decorative elements are terra-cotta. This building was completed in late 1916." ~ NRHP Nomination Form

"The physical arrangement of Pontotoc is that of a grid superimposed on a ridge road that runs approximately ten degrees west of north. This ridge road, known as Main Street inside the city limits, is the major thoroughfare for the downtown area. The grid of the town is laid out with streets running parallel to Main Street (Liberty and Lafayette) and perpendicular to Main Street (Jefferson, Marion, Washington, Green, Morgan, First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Seventh). The historic district encompasses eleven blocks along Main Street between Reynolds to the north and Seventh to the south and roughly one block east and west of Main. In the center of downtown is an open green space known as Confederate Park or Town Square. This square was, from 1840 to 1916, the site of the county courthouse. In 1916 this building was demolished when the present courthouse, which was built on the block to the south, was completed. This new building faces northward onto the Square. This Square is the visual, geographical, and historical center of Pontotoc. The Square is casually landscaped with mature trees. Mature trees line the streets in the residential areas. Small street trees have been planted along the sidewalks fronting some of the commercial buildings.

The majority of Pontotoc's historic commercial buildings are centered around and north of the square on Main Street. Most of the commercial buildings in Pontotoc are set next to the sidewalk. These buildings, dating from the 1890's to the 1930's, are built of brick with very simple detailing. Most of these buildings are one story although a few, mostly around the square, are two or three stories. The three-story courthouse very clearly dominates the downtown area." ~ NRHP Nomination Form