Bladen County is named for Martin Bladen, who was a member of the Board of Trade. The county was created in 1739 and Elizabeth was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a wood structure built at Elizabeth on the Cape Fear River in 1738. The county seat became Elizabethtown in 1773. The courthouse burned in 1800 and the second courthouse was built in 1802. That courthouse burned in 1893. The third courthouse was built in 1893 and enlarged in 1925. The fourth and present courthouse was completed in 1966.
The design reflects the clean lines and functional simplicity typical of mid-20th-century Modernism. The building features red brick and concrete construction, a flat roofline, and a white concrete façade at the central entrance. Narrow vertical windows line the second story, and the east and west wings are slightly lower than the central block, creating a balanced but understated profile.
The courthouse grounds include memorials to veterans and eagles as symbolic guardians of justice as well as the Charters of Freedom display and one for Patriot spy Sallie Salter who was instrumental in the 1781 Battle of Elizabethtown during the American Revolution. There was easy parking this afternoon and while the courthouse itself was closed, it was easy to walk the grounds and appreciate this lovely structure.
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