Old Hardeman County Courthouse - Bolivar Court Square Historic District - Bolivar, TN - NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings on Waymarking.com

County of building: Hardeman County
Location of building: 209 E. Market St., Bolivar
Occupant at listing: Joy - Hardeway House
Current occupant: Little Courthouse Museum
Building built: ca. 1824

"38. Old Hardeman County Courthouse - Joy-Hardaway House (East Market Street): ca. 1824, 2 story frame with weatherboard siding, brick exterior gable and chimneys, entrance with head and side lights, used as first courthouse, moved from court square to present location ca. 1867." ~ NRHP Nomination Form

"Bolivar is unusual among Tennessee communities in retaining two courthouse buildings. The original log courthouse was built in 1824 on the square and stood for only a few years until a new brick courthouse building was proposed. In 1827 [sic s.b 1867] it was purchased by the Levi Joy family and was move to its present location two blocks away, enlarged, and the logs covered with clapboards. The family lived there while building their larger home across the street. Later, this building was purchased by Dr. Thomas E. Moore, and further additions were made. His daughter, Alice Moore Hardaway, was born in the first courtroom and later it became the property of Miss Jennie Hardaway, the daughter of Alice. The building was used as a residence until the late twentieth century and is now known as the Little Courthouse Museum. It is the oldest courthouse building still standing in the state and it still retains its original entrance with sidelights and transom and original nine-over-six wood sash windows." ~ Visit Historic Bolivar

"Bolivar is the county seat of Hardeman County, which is located in southwestern Tennessee. The Bolivar Court Square Historic District, which includes the court square and a small extension to the east, contains forty buildings and one structure (a monument); twenty eight buildings and the monument contribute to the significance of the district, and there are twelve other buildings. The district has commercial, government, religious, and residential buildings.

"Twenty-two of the twenty-eight buildings and structures which contribute to the significance of the district are commercial or professional buildings; of this number thirteen are nineteenth-century buildings and the remaining nine were constructed between 1900 and 1915. This collection is a catalogue of styles of commercial buildings built in a southern county seat during the period 1852 to 1915; there is at least one building representing each of the seven decades." ~ NRHP Nomination Form