Recently a friend and fellow genealogist e-mailed me asking about the destruction of a Tuscaloosa County Courthouse in 1842 by a tornado. I wasn’t familiar with that courthouse, nor did I know of any lost records due to the destruction so I began to research. My research would lead me to discover it was an abandoned courthouse and no records were lost. In the course of e-mailing back and forth with my friend, she made the suggestion that I write about the history of the various buildings that have housed the Tuscaloosa County Courthouse, this blog is the result of her suggestion. In researching the history of the various courthouses I discovered the late historian Matt Clinton had written about the various courthouses in different publications, the one I am referencing the most is a copy of the program from the dedication of the most recent county courthouse in 1964. I have emphasized about it being the county courthouse due to a much newer federal courthouse being opened in 2011. That federal courthouse is not included in this list.
At best count, Tuscaloosa has had a total of 8 county courthouses in it’s long history. The first records of a courthouse we have in Tuscaloosa date back to 1820 only a year after Tuscaloosa became a city and Alabama became a state. As was pointed out by a local genealogist, it is any wonder with as many times as the courthouse moved that so many records survived. Tuscaloosa for the age of the county has quite a large number of older records, though only some of them have been microfilmed or digitized.
Courthouse #1 was a small building located somewhere close to the corner of Fourth Street and 22nd Avenue. From the descriptions and a look at the modern map this would have been close to where Wilhagen’s of Tuscaloosa is now. This courthouse lasted only until 1821 when it was moved to Courthouse #2
Courthouse #2 was up and running a year or so after the first courthouse. At that time the location of the courthouse was in the Masonic Hall and from the best descriptions I can find it is near where the Bama Theater is now located. The courthouse did not stay here long moving after only a year, moving to courthouse #3 in 1822.
Courthouse # 3 came about when the people of the county decided to move the courthouse to “Newtown” which is now part of Tuscaloosa’s West End neighborhood. The descriptions I have read place this somewhere near where 6th or 7th streets connect to 32nd Avenue which is now Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. A Google Earth view seems to show this is a residential neighborhood now. At this point this courthouse was the nicest of the courthouses being a good brick building. This courthouse lasted a little bit longer than the first two lasting until Tuscaloosa was made the state capital and Newtown was annexed back into Tuscaloosa in 1826. It is a good thing that this courthouse was moved because in 1842 the building was destroyed by a tornado.
Courthouse #4 lasted about the same length of time as #3, of all things the courthouse was located in a hotel. Later on an actual courthouse was built on the same site This hotel/tavern/courthouse was located on what is now University Boulevard on the site of Tuscaloosa City Hall.
Courthouse #5 would finally lend some stability to Tuscaloosa’s court system being that it would stay in the same site for 62 years. The courthouse was initially located in the Masonic Hall and in 1845 a proper courthouse was built.
Courthouse #6 came about when in 1906 the County Commission decided they needed a new courthouse. This courthouse was the first of the courthouses to be located on Greensboro Avenue at the site of the current courthouse. Even though a decision was made to build the courthouse in 1906, it was not until 1908 that the courthouse was ready for use.
Courthouse #7 was a temporary location in the old McLester Hotel was used from 1962-1964 while the current courthouse was built. This location was just down the street from where the current courthouse currently sits.
Courthouse #8 is the most recent of the courthouses. This courthouse was opened in April 1964 after the demolition of courthouse #6. In addition to the main building, an annex was later added to include such services as drivers licenses and voter registration.
In writing about the courthouses I must include a plug for anyone that has an interest in Tuscaloosa History. At one time a great number of older records were kept on the 7th floor of the current courthouse in areas without proper climate control. The Tuscaloosa Genealogical Society rescued these records and is in the process of indexing, and digitizing them. They are always looking for volunteers, here is a link to more information about the project: http://www.tuscaloosagenealogy.org/. You can also contact me (genealogy@tuscaloosa-library.org) and I will give you the e-mail address for the person in charge of the project.
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