County of Randolph County
Location of courthouse: 145 Worth St., courthouse lawn, Asheboro
Location of county: Dead center in the state; crossroads of: US-64 and I-73, I-74, US-421, US-220 [alt], NC-22, NC-49
Courthouse Architect: Wheeler, Runge and Dickey
Founded: 1779
Named After: Peyton Randolph
Elevation: 630ft (192m)
Population: 145,172 (2021)
The Person:
"Peyton Randolph (September 10, 1721 – October 22, 1775) was an American politician and planter who was a Founding Father of the United States. Born into Virginia's wealthiest and most powerful family, Randolph served as speaker of Virginia's House of Burgesses, president of the first two Virginia Conventions, and president of the First Continental Congress. He also served briefly as president of the Second Continental Congress.
"In 1774, Randolph signed the Continental Association, a trade boycott adopted by the First Continental Congress in response to the British Parliament's Intolerable Acts. Randolph was a first cousin once removed of Thomas Jefferson and was also related to John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States, and Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederate States Army in the American Civil War." ~ Wikipedia
The Place:
Annexed from Guilford, Randolph County was formed in 1779, and named for Peyton Randolph, a Virginian who once presided over the Continental Congress. Abraham Reese received a commission from the North Carolina legislature to hold court until the justices of the peace constructed a courthouse in the new county. The construction was delayed, so in 1783 the state legislature terminated some of the commissioners for failing to establish a county seat. By 1788 a new courthouse and town formed around the property of Thomas Douggan; Johnstonville, in respect of Samuel Johnston, was the name given to the town. Asheboro, named after Governor Samuel Ashe, became the county seat in 1796, and other townships within Randolph County include Ramseur, Seagrove, Archdale, Franklinville, Whynot, Worthville, Coleridge, and Trinity.
"Randolph has had a deep history steeped in the religious fervor of the early Quakers and Baptists. During the 1740s, The Pennsylvania Quakers were the first religious group to inhabit the region. These Quakers, including the Coffin family, strongly opposed slavery, and some helped create the Underground Railroad. At the onset of the Civil War, Quakers and other pacifists fled to the covered hills of Randolph." ~ North Carolina History Project
Marker Text:
Randolph County was formed in 1779, and its government met at the lost town of Johnstonville in New Market Township from 1786 to 1792. After county residents petitioned for a more convenient location “in the most central part” of the county, the state legislature relocated “Randolph Court House” to the new site of “Asheborough.” The first session of court in “Asheborough” was held on the “Publick Ground” at the intersection of Main and Salisbury Streets on June 12, 1793.
"After arrival of the railroad in 1889, the business center of Asheboro began to migrate away from the old “Publick Ground.” In 1907, the county commissioners purchased proven plans from the Charlotte firm of Wheeler, Runge and Dickey, which were nearly identical to their popular 1899 Iredell County Courthouse plans. In April 1908, citizens of Asheboro purchased Col. A.C. McAlister’s barnyard and windmill water pump as a site for the new building. Construction began on July 8, 1908, and the first term of court was held in the building on July 19, 1909. The 1909 Courthouse is the seventh building to serve as the Randolph County Courthouse, the fourth to be built in Asheboro, and the first one built on Worth Street.
"The Courthouse combines flamboyant Victorian massing with the motifs of American Beaux-Arts classicism. The two-story main block is topped by a powerful Second Empire cupola covered by a ribbed copper dome. Corinthian columns with terra cotta capitals support an elaborate pediment with pressed-tin decoration. Arched windows to the east and west define the courtroom on the second floor level; the windows of the southern façade feature elaborate molded lintels in a variety of shapes and sizes. Construction used one million red brick from Glenola, NC; 700,000 yellow brick from Ohio; and tons of white granite from Mt. Airy, NC. The final price tag of the building was $34,000." ~ Asheboro City Council, Randolph County Board of Commissioners, & Historic Landmark Preservation Commission