A judicial dedication ceremony, celebrating the completion of the Sumter County Courthouse and the welcoming of its presence into the judicial community, will be held at 3 p.m. Friday, April 29, 2011, at the courthouse. The dedication is open to the public, and Chief Justice Carol W. Hunstein of the Georgia Supreme Court will be present to help officiate.
The courthouse, which opened in late August 2010, received a ribbon cutting ceremony in September. The significance of the judicial dedication is to provide an opportunity for the judges and staff to acknowledge the new courthouse statewide and celebrate its addition into the judicial system.
“The courthouse is the culmination of years of planning and design, by both the business and legal communities,” said R. Rucker Smith, Chief Judge of the Southwestern Judicial Circuit Superior Court. “We are very proud of the result.”
The building of the courthouse took two years and was completed in August 2010. Designed by the architectural firm of Rosser International Inc., according to P.J. Docka, designer, the inspiration for the courthouse was the original 1888 courthouse and the “architectural fabric” of downtown Americus, an area on the National Register for Historical Places.
“We wanted to create a building concept in keeping with the rich architectural traditions in Americus,” said Docka.
The courthouse building boasts six courtrooms in four floors of judicial space. All courts, including the Superior Court, State Court, Juvenile Court, Probate Court and Magistrate Court, are housed there, and other county offices such as the Clerk of Court, Board of Commissioners, Election Board, and tax office, as well.
“We worked really hard to reach a consensus on each detail of the building during its construction, and the ultimate collaboration resulted in a better and more useful facility,” said Lynn Ansley, Southwestern Judicial Circuit Court administrator. “It has worked out very well.”
The three Superior Court judges, including Smith, also have their offices located in the building.
“The new courthouse, with its beautiful architectural details and well thought out use of space, will take this community well into the next one hundred fifty years,” said Superior Court Judge George M. Peagler. “It is, to quote Francis Bacon, ‘a hallowed place.’”
Superior Court Judge W. James Sizemore Jr. agreed.
“When I was in private practice as an attorney,” Sizemore said, “I was in every courthouse south of Macon. I think this is the nicest courthouse I’ve ever been in.”
The new courthouse, on the southwest corner of Dudley and Lamar streets, sits on the site of its predecessor, a one-story courthouse built in 1957 by Barber Contracting Company of Moultrie, which was razed in 2010 to make room for the newer structure. Although replete with modern amenities and materials, custom millwork and high security, it harkens back more closely in style to the Victorian brick courthouse built in 1888, which sat on the corner of Forsyth and Lee streets, built under the direction of architects Bruce & Morgan of Atlanta. Docka studied photographs of the 1888 edifice and consciously translated the feeling of the old structure, including a clock tower and tiered Romanesque Revival style arched windows set in red brick, into the new design.
“We wanted to create a feeling of continuity and history when we designed the edifice,” said Docka. “The clock tower was designed to be seen from anywhere in the downtown area, immediately identifying the courthouse location and signifying its importance and connection to the community.”
The courthouse not only harkens back to the style of the 1888 courthouse, it also complements the historical downtown structures like the Windsor Hotel, designed by architect Gottlieb L. Norrman in 1892, and the Rylander Theatre, built in 1919.
The dedication ceremony, which will last about an hour, will include an invocation by the Rev. Norris Harris, president of the Sumter Americus Ministerial Association, a rendition of “God Bless America” by Willie Cutts of DeSoto, a welcome and recognition of special guests by Sumter County Board of Commissioners Chairman Randy Howard, and the presentation of an award to a local student artist by Smith.
Artwork of the courthouse has been created especially for this ceremony by local Sumter County students under the direction of their art teachers. The students’ work will be featured for the first time in the courthouse on the day of the dedication, framed and hung throughout the courthouse on the second and third floors for the occasion.
The inspiration for the artwork came from Smith, who is responsible for bringing this project to reality, with the help of Deborah Banse, a local attorney and director of the Family Violence Council.
“Judge Smith’s choice of artwork for the courthouse by local students reflects a message that this courthouse belongs to all of us,” said Banse. “This project is special, not only because it highlights the courthouse through the universal language of art, but also because it recognizes the potential of our students, who will soon become leaders in our community.”
Smith is pleased that the courthouse can not only reflect Sumter County’s artistic past, but it can support its future through student art.
“Sumter County enjoys a heritage of art and justice, and these gifts make this an interesting and gratifying place to live,” said Smith. “Like justice, art must be nurtured and cultivated. So it seems fitting that our grand new courthouse can become a center to display and celebrate the artistic talents of our students.”
The Southwestern Judicial Circuit, which the courthouse was designed to serve, was created in 1840, and is the ninth oldest judicial circuit in the state. The circuit originally served 24 counties and extended from Macon County to the Florida border. Since 1907, when Dooly and Crisp counties were transferred to the newly created Cordele Judicial Circuit, the Southwestern Judicial Circuit has served Macon, Sumter, Schley, Stewart, Webster and Lee counties. Due to the increases in population and industrial and commercial growth, the circuit is now served by three Superior Court judges and one Juvenile Court judge.
At the conclusion of the dedication ceremony, tours of the courthouse and the student art displays will be offered to the public.
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