The former Ware County Post Office & Courthouse circa 1930s
The former Ware County Post Office & Courthouse was built in 1911 by architect James Knox Taylor. The building was designed as a civil defense fallout shelter and constructed of steel and concrete. An expansion in 1936, designed by G.W. Stone, added a second story and two-story wings at each end. It served historically as a courthouse of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia and as a post office until 1975.
The first-floor lobby
The building has terrazzo and maple hardwood floors. The door facings, wainscoting, and stairs are all made from Georgia marble. The woodwork is oak. The Postal Service moved out of the building in 1975, after constructing a newer facility. The U.S. Post Office & Courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. In recent years, the building housed an antique market and was also used as an event venue. The courthouse was sold to a developer in 2019. After sitting abandoned for three years, the building is currently undergoing a renovation.
The former Post Office mailroom located on the first floor.The original brass post office boxes remain inside.
Beads of condensation roll down an old vault inside of the Postmaster’s Office.The second-floor wings housed offices for the Judge, Court Clerk, U.S. Marshals, as well as the Wage & Labor Department.
This particular room also housed the court’s Stenographer.The second-floor courtroom.A small jail cell in the former U.S. Marshals office.
Georgia marble lines the upstairs hallways.The old Ware County Courthouse reflects the Renaissance and ‘Romano-Tuscan’ architecture.
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My name is Leland Kent. In 2016, my obsession with abandoned places inspired me to create this blog. My goal is to showcase the obscure, sometimes historic, forgotten places I have visited across the Southeast. I hope to preserve the past through documentation and photographs. You can reach me at AbandonedSoutheast@gmail.com
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6 Replies to “Old County Courthouse”
Your article on the abandoned U.S. Post Office Courthouse didn’t list where it is located.
I wonder if this post office has a small almost hidden staircase and a hidden passageway.
The former post office in LaSalle, Illinois was occupied by a cellular phone company where my sister worked. She showed me a barely visible door in a back part of the building. The door led to a staircase and a passageway which was used by postal inspectors. It was their practice to enter the building undetected and follow the passageway where viewing places were located. The postal employees never knew when their activities were being viewed by the inspectors overhead.
I wonder if all post offices constructed during that time period had places for postal inspectors to view employees and wonder if the one you photographed has the passages.
I know exactly where this building is. 25 years ago I worked in the building that is behind it, just visible in the first picture above. At the time there was idle chatter about us acquiring the building, but obviously nothing ever came from it. What a shame, but in that once beautiful, prosperous, but now shrinking city, there are NUMEROUS similar buildings falling into abject disrepair. None will ever be renovated in that city. I wonder if the federal government still owns this property?
Your article on the abandoned U.S. Post Office Courthouse didn’t list where it is located.
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The locations are often not listed to discourage people visiting and disturbing the site.
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Where is this post office located?
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Great article and photos.
I wonder if this post office has a small almost hidden staircase and a hidden passageway.
The former post office in LaSalle, Illinois was occupied by a cellular phone company where my sister worked. She showed me a barely visible door in a back part of the building. The door led to a staircase and a passageway which was used by postal inspectors. It was their practice to enter the building undetected and follow the passageway where viewing places were located. The postal employees never knew when their activities were being viewed by the inspectors overhead.
I wonder if all post offices constructed during that time period had places for postal inspectors to view employees and wonder if the one you photographed has the passages.
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Oh wow, that’s really interesting. I didn’t see anything like that while I was there. I found a diagram online of the building so I will double check.
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I know exactly where this building is. 25 years ago I worked in the building that is behind it, just visible in the first picture above. At the time there was idle chatter about us acquiring the building, but obviously nothing ever came from it. What a shame, but in that once beautiful, prosperous, but now shrinking city, there are NUMEROUS similar buildings falling into abject disrepair. None will ever be renovated in that city. I wonder if the federal government still owns this property?
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