The building is temporarily closed because of flooding damage from Hurricane Helene as it stands directly on the French Broad River. Thankfully the building is still standing and it's being repaired. Court and county functions have moved to a elsewhere in Marshall in the meanwhile.
Madison County was founded in 1851 and named for President James Madison. Its courthouse in Marshall, built in 1907, is a striking Neo-Classical Revival structure designed by Richard Sharp Smith, the supervising architect of the Biltmore Estate.
The current Madison County Courthouse, completed in 1907, is one of the most architecturally distinguished civic buildings in the region with a commanding brick façade and a tetrastyle Corinthian portico. Its most iconic feature is the four-stage polygonal cupola, topped with a domical roof and lantern pedestal bearing a statue of Blind Justice. Clocks adorn alternating faces of the cupola, reinforcing the building's civic symbolism.
I found easy parking in a gravel lot nearby and was able to walk the grounds. Most of the monuments survived the flooding but the Charters of Freedom need attention.
[Review 1232 of 2025 - 4417 in North Carolina - 24784 overall] read more