THE COURTHOUSE
North Carolina is geographically divided into
three belts—the Mountain District, the Piedmont
Plains, and the Coastal Region. In these sections
there are one hundred counties, varying in size
from 165 square miles to 990 square miles. One
thing common to all of these 100 counties is that
each has a county seat and a courthouse, around
which is centered the operation of executive, legis
lative, and judicial branches of the local govern
ment. It is a very important cog in the wheels of
our much cherished democracy.
In days gone by the courthouse was, and in
some sections still is, the central meeting place
for the entire area. Today our courthouse is
used for more social, civic, and business meetings
than any other place in the county.
Transylvania was made a county from parts
of Buncombe and Henderson Counties by an
Act of the State Legislature in January 1861, and
in May of the same year it was formally organiz
ed. The organizational meeting was held in the
B. C. Langford home which stood near the en
trance to Camp Sapphire. A' map of the Town
of Brevard was drawn up and an area set aside
for the courthouse. This map showed the town
extending 3 blocks on the Greenville, S. C.,
highway, 3 blocks toward the present railroad, 1
block toward Ecusta, and 3 blocks toward Rosman.
The deed to the town was made over to the
Chairman of the County Court.
At that time the County Court was made up
of all the Justices of the Peace in the county, and
it was the governing body. It performed the du
ties of operation, appointed committees, selected
officials, operated the schools, maintained the
roads, etc. The setup of our present local govern
ment was started in 1868.
The original plan stipulated that the courthouse
was to occupy the area which we now call "The
Square”; and the streets were to go around the
structure similiar to the courthouses in Moore,
Alexander and several other counties. At that
time the funds were insufficient to carry out the
plans, so a small building was erected on the
back of the lot of the present courthouse. The
jail was in the building now occupied by the tele
phone exchange.
In 1878 the front part of our courthouse was
built. The back was not completed until 1919. At the
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