Cherokee County Courthouse in Murphy, North Carolina

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Courthouse Information

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Wikipedia says the following about the courthouse:

The Cherokee County Courthouse is located at the corner of Central and Peachtree Streets in Murphy, North Carolina, the county seat of Cherokee County. The Classical Revival building, built in 1926 to a design by James J. Baldwin, was the fifth built on the site. The marble-faced two story building has a five-bay diagonal section facing the roadway that forms its entrance. It has a four-columned Corinthian Greek portico, and is topped by a monumental cupola which rises well above the structure. The building interior, especially its courtroom, has retained much of its original woodwork and stone styling.

The courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

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County Information

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The North Carolina History Project lists the following information for this county:

Cherokee County (1839)

Prior to European contact in the sixteenth century, the native Cherokee in North Carolina subsisted by hunting and gathering and farming. Their main crops were maize and beans. While white settlers bought their land, Cherokees grew dependent on European trade and technology and subsequently adopted many aspects of Western culture. Most depended on agriculture; some even owned slaves or managed plantations.

During the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), many Cherokee sided with the British and campaigned against the Patriots. In the summer of 1776, General Griffith Rutherford led 2,400 Continentals to fight the Cherokee in western North Carolina. In what is now Murphy, Rutherford established his headquarters and organized soldiers from South Carolina and Virginia to crush the Cherokee.

The Treaty of New Echota, signed in 1837 by the United States government and a small faction of Cherokee, guaranteed the relocation of Cherokee to lands west of the Mississippi. Included in the treaty was the Eastern Band of Cherokee living in western North Carolina. In 1838, under the leadership of George Winfield Scott, over 7,000 Cherokee were removed from their native land. The region was a part of Macon County, but in 1839, the legislature renamed it Cherokee County in honor of the tribe from whom it was taken. The state of North Carolina named the county seat after a former legislator known for his economic vision: Archibald Murphey. Many of Murphey's proposals, relating to public works and public schools were not adopted; however, he was known as the "Father of Education" and was a well-respected member of the legislature. When his name was given to Cherokee County's seat it was misspelled as Murphy. Also in 1839, the first state-funded road, the Western Turnpike, connected Franklin in Macon County to the town of Murphy.

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Our Experience

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I had never been to Murphy but always wanted to do so. A common phrase in North Carolina is "from Murphy to Manteo". It seemed like a nice little town with a vibrant center. It was getting late in the day so we ate at a local restaurant called Shoe Booties Cafe. It was a nice place and we would definitely eat there again.

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Google Map Track Log

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Macon County Courthouse in Franklin, North Carolina		Watauga County Courthouse in Boone, North Carolina

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