The Sumter County Courthouse, built in 1902, is a Beaux-Arts Classicism style building with certain features that reflect the then popular Romanesque style. Features which reflect the Classic Revival include four sets of coupled Ionic engaged columns spaced symmetrically along the second-story facade of the central mass. An- eight-sided, but not octagonal, domed cupola rises from the roof of the building.
On January 10, 1835, the town of Livingston was incorporated. The first courthouse, built of logs, stood on the corner of Spring Street and West Main. Another courthouse, a frame building erected in 1939 at the present courthouse location, burned in 1901. The cornerstone for the present courthouse was laid July 9, 1902.
The Sumter County Courthouse was placed on the National Register of Historical Places (NRHP) on March 24, 1972. It is located on the courthouse square at downtown Livingston (GPS coordinates: 32.582776, -88.188348).
Sources: 1) NRHP “Sumter County Courthouse” Nomination Form; 2) “Livingston, Alabama/ Livingston’s Bored Well” Historical Marker.
Photographs courtesy of RuralSWAlabama.