[3] There is evidence that in 1897, plans were put forward to construct a new courthouse designed by Frank Pierce Milburn, but a failure by the city to secure a bond issue caused the project to die.

[1] Construction on a new county courthouse began in 1906, with New York City-based Charles Alling Gifford serving as the project's architect.

[3] On June 20 of that year, city officials accepted construction proposals for the building based on Gifford's design.

Additional modifications to the building over the next several decades included the installation of sound boards for soundproofing and dropped ceilings.

[8] Phase II, which cost approximately $1.2 million,[6] included the installation of fire detection and prevention systems and bringing the building up to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

According to one historian, "the effect of this building today is moody and nostalgic, recalling not the pure light of the Renaissance but a shadowy classical ruin, more emotionally poignant and appropriately Southern than any new structure.