Four Years, Five Months, Five Days..More or Less

   August 12, 2010, my wife and I took a short trip down I-95 to Kingsland, the county seat of Camden County, Georgia to take a picture of the courthouse.

   That began a multi-year odyssey to take photographs of all 159 county courthouses in the state. What began when Mayre read a story in the paper of a man who roamed the United States looking at old buildings and chronicling them on film, turned into a many mile quest to locate and picture these structures in our state.

   January 17, 2015 found us in the middle of downtown Atlanta. I guess this is fitting since we were so close to the Georgia State Capital building. We had come full circle, from a small town in southeast Georgia to the largest city of the largest county in our state; from one of the smaller courthouses to the largest.

   But we had stood in front of, and walked around 160 courthouses, taking pictures, looking at monuments, reading inscriptions, going inside, talking to people and soaking up the atmosphere to all these places.

   A quick note on the 160 figure since there are only 159 counties:

   There were two counties that ceased to exist when they both merged into Fulton County. On our last trip, two days before we stood before our last remaining courthouse, we passed through the town of Fairburn and found the 1871 building that had served Campbell County until it merged with Fulton in 1932.

   If there was a courthouse in Alpharetta, the county seat of the other merging county, Milton County, I have not been able to determine or locate. Perhaps there is another hidden gem, but for now 160 is the number.

   It has been a journey, but a fun one, and it has been a mutual effort. Sure, I have taken all the pictures, but Mayre has been with me to every one; keeping a lookout for the right places, reading maps, passing me lunch as we drove, and most of all, encouraging me to finish the project when it seemed to drag on and on. We have had a lot of fun, and it was always together. For that I am thankful.

   We have photographed the Hancock County courthouse in Sparta, just months before it burned.

   We have visited the Schley County courthouse in Ellaville, finding out how to pronounce the name and getting tour from a gracious lady who just happened to be the Probate Judge.

   And we have been in old buildings, once courthouses, but now museums or home to various Historical Societies, such as the one in Union County in Blairsville.

   Many buildings, many stories and many memories…

   And I'm sure several of these will find their way into this blog one day.

   We thank God for this opportunity, and only have one question:

   What next?