Background

Originally, the first session of the Rockingham County Court met at Eagle Falls on the Dan River in 1786. In 1787 a courthouse was established near the center of the county and the settlement was known as Rockingham Courthouse. However, in 1798, the General Assembly of North Carolina passed an act which established the county seat to be known as Wentworth at the site of the 1787 Courthouse. This courthouse was replaced by a brick courthouse in 1824 and this building was considerably remodeled (plans by non-professional architect Lyndon Swaim of Greensboro, NC) in a more Victorian style in the early 1880s.

On the night of October 2, 1906, a mercantile building in the courthouse village square caught fire. The fire spread to the courthouse and destroyed it. All of its records were recovered except for a few old documents displayed in the gallery—likely tax lists. The destruction of the courthouse occurred during a years-long dispute between the citizens of Reidsville, who wanted to move the county seat to their city, and residents from other areas of the county, who were opposed to its relocation. The debate continued for several months until the county commission voted to rebuild the courthouse in Wentworth.^[3]

Construction and additions

The courthouse in 1907

In early 1907 Rockingham County hired Frank Pierce Milburn to design the new courthouse. His plans included a new water and sewage system which was also implemented in the nearby jail. The courthouse's foundation was laid by June. By September the main structure was complete, and by February 1908 the interior was finished. In 1937 additions were added to either side of the building using the same architectural style. In 1970 a large brick annex was erected on the rear of the building to house an additional courtroom and offices for the clerk of superior court and register of deeds. Shortly thereafter a "Law and Order Building" was appended onto the courthouse to host the offices of the Rockingham County Sheriff's Department and a new jail.^[3]

Replacement

In May 2011, a new 184,516 square foot Rockingham County courthouse, also known as the "Rockingham County Justice Center," opened its doors at a location one mile east of the historic village area where the courthouses had been since 1787. Construction of the new building cost $39,059,000, after an originally projected cost of $37,757,000. The three-story Justice Center houses county law enforcement services as well as the county courthouse.