Washington County Courthouse in Plymouth, North Carolina

Jun 7, 2018 Thu0

Laurie and I like riding our Gold Wing motorcycle. But it is easy to get into a rut and just ride the same roads. So to force ourselves to ride to places we would not normally visit we made a goal to visit and photograph all 100 North Carolina courthouses within 1 year.

As usual, we got a little behind. We started in July 2015 and finished 99 out of 100 by June 2018. The last courthouse was in our home county of Wake and it took us until Feb 2021 to get that final one. But we made it! This blog is about one of those visits.

Many NC courthouses were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The nomination form has some interesting facts about the various courthouse styles over the years.






Courthouse Information


Wikipedia says the following about the courthouse:

Washington County Courthouse is a historic courthouse located at Plymouth, Washington County, North Carolina. It was designed by the architectural firm of Benton & Benton and built in 1918-1919. It is a three-story, Classical Revival style brick building with heavy stone trim. The front facade features a monumental tetrastyle Ionic order portico.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It is located in the Plymouth Historic District.






County Information


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

Named in honor of the first president of the United States, George Washington, the coastal county of Washington was established in 1799. It was formed from parts of Tyrrell County, and the Albermarle Sound graces the northern border of the county. Washington has many other tributaries and bodies of water within its region including the East Dismal Swamp, both the Roanoke and Scuppernong Rivers, and two prominent lakes, Pungo and Phelps Lakes.

The county seat of Washington County is the town of Plymouth. Established in 1807, Plymouth was named in recognition of the Pilgrim colony in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Cherry, Pleasant Grove, Hinson, Scuppernong, and Roper are other communities within Washington County.

Once one of the most prosperous plantations in North Carolina, Somerset Place encompassed more than 100,000 acres in Washington County and the agricultural products of the region included wheat, corn, lumber, and rice. Operated for 80 years from 1785 until 1865, Somerset housed over 800 slaves who worked the plantation fields. The N.C. Office of Archives and History successfully advocated for Somerset's restoration in the 1950s. Today, Somerset remains a reunion place for the slaves' descendants.

During the Civil War, a decisive Confederate victory occurred at the Battle of Plymouth on April 17-20, 1864. Ground forces led by General Robert F. Hoke along with naval support by the ironclad, CSS Albemarle, successfully defeated the Union garrison throughout Washington County. Only fifty Confederate soldiers were wounded or killed during the offensive, and Hoke's victory did much to increase the sagging morale of the Confederacy in North Carolina. However, after the Union destroyed the Albemarle in October 1864, the North again reoccupied the town of Plymouth and they remained in Washington County until the end of the Civil War.



Jun 7, 2018 Thu 3:38:54 PM EDT Altitude: 5 ft Camera: X100FDisplay on Google Map
Washington County Courthouse in Plymouth, North Carolina
Jun 7, 2018 Thu 3:39:06 PM EDT Altitude: 5 ft Camera: X100FDisplay on Google Map
Washington County Courthouse in Plymouth, North Carolina
Jun 7, 2018 Thu 3:39:20 PM EDT Altitude: 71 ft Camera: iPhone 7 PlusDisplay on Google Map
Washington County Courthouse in Plymouth, North Carolina
Jun 7, 2018 Thu 3:39:38 PM EDT Altitude: 5 ft Camera: X100FDisplay on Google Map
Washington County Courthouse in Plymouth, North Carolina
Jun 7, 2018 Thu 3:39:54 PM EDT Altitude: 5 ft Camera: X100FDisplay on Google Map
Washington County Courthouse in Plymouth, North Carolina
Jun 7, 2018 Thu 3:40:12 PM EDT Altitude: 5 ft Camera: X100FDisplay on Google Map
Washington County Courthouse in Plymouth, North Carolina
Jun 7, 2018 Thu 3:40:26 PM EDT Altitude: 5 ft Camera: X100FDisplay on Google Map
Washington County Courthouse in Plymouth, North Carolina
Jun 7, 2018 Thu 3:40:46 PM EDT Altitude: 5 ft Camera: X100FDisplay on Google Map
Washington County Courthouse in Plymouth, North Carolina
Jun 7, 2018 Thu 3:42:26 PM EDT Altitude: 5 ft Camera: X100FDisplay on Google Map
Washington County Courthouse in Plymouth, North Carolina
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Washington County Courthouse in Plymouth, North Carolina
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Washington County Courthouse in Plymouth, North Carolina
Laurie
Jun 7, 2018 Thu 3:47:38 PM EDT Altitude: 11 ft Camera: iPhone 7 PlusDisplay on Google Map
Washington County Courthouse in Plymouth, North Carolina



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Currituck County Courthouse in Currituck, North Carolina




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