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Current Courthouse View after 1955 Additions
The county's first courthouse was built of logs on this site in 1824. This structure was used until 1827 when it was moved a few blocks away (see Little Courthouse Museum site).
A permanent brick courthouse with rooms for courts and offices was completed on this site in 1827. Bolivar was occupied early during the Civil War. Union General Samuel D. Sturgis ordered the city to be razed in 1864 and all of the downtown area and many of the homes, including the courthouse, were destroyed in the fire. Fortunately, for posterity, local townsfolk had enough warning of the burning to allow them to evacuate what today are priceless historical records.
The current courthouse, Hardeman County's third, was completed in 1868. This two story brick structure was designed by Willis, Sloan and Trigg, architects and builders of Bolivar. A $25,000 bond issue financed the building. The design features a handsome Corinthian order pedimented portico set on a rasticated stone base. A square bell and clock tower were also placed on the center of the roof. In 1955, three story brick wings were added to each side of the courthouse to accommodate offices.
Two Monuments are Located Here
Bolivar, the county seat of Hardeman County, was established on April 22, 1824 (see day counter on the left sidebar to see how old we are). Bolivar was named for the South American Liberator, Simon Bolivar. In appreciation of this honor, the people of Venezuela later gave the city a monument that sits on the west lawn of the courthouse.
The monument on the south lawn erected in 1873 was one of the very first memorials to honor the Confederate war dead after the Civil War.
1868 Courthouse
Simon Bolivar Monument
Confederate Monument
Public Square Buildings
Most of the downtown commercial buildings that surround the court square date from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The oldest buildings in the downtown area date to the late 1870's and were built following the fire of 1876 which destroyed most of the downtown commercial area. The background photo on this website shows part of the West side of Main Street.
County of marker: Hardeman County
location of marker: Main St. & Market St., courthouse lawn, Bolivar, Tennessee
Marker erected by: Civil War Trails
Marker Text:
BOLIVAR
Strategic Position
Located midway between Memphis and Corinth, Mississippi, Bolivar's position on the Hatchie River (a navigable route to the Mississippi Rover) and its junction of north-south railroads made it a strategic location for both armies. By the fall of 1862, Union forces had occupied West Tennessee, where they remained until war's end.
Several Union generals quartered in nearby dwellings: Gen. Lew Wallace stayed at the Levi Joy House, while Gens. William T. Sherman, James B. McPherson, and Uylsses S. Grant each used Austin Miller's house (Magnolia Manor) as a headquarters.
Early in 1864, Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest's cavalry re-entered West Tennessee to raid and disrupt Union supply lines. When Union Gen. Samuel D. Sturgis learned that Forrest was in Bolivar, he marched here from Memphis on May 2. After a brief fight, Forrest withdrew to the south. To punish Bolivar for supporting Forrest, Sturgis ordered the courthouse and town square burned to the ground. The Methodist and baptist churches and most of the business district were also destroyed. Fortunately, the courthouse records were saved. According to local tradition, a Union officer and Freemason contacted fellow Masonic brother Austin Miller and gave Miller two hours advance warning. Miller moved the records to his house. The current courthouse was erected in 1868 to replace the one that burned.
Bolivar's Confederate monument here on the courthouse square is one of the oldest in the state. Local residence began raising funds for the obelisk to commemorate fallen soldiers in 1866, the year that the new courthouse was completed, and erected it in 1873.
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