The County Seat of Bath
After 112 years in buildings near the Warm
Springs mineral baths a mile northeast, the
Bath County Court moved to this site in 1908.
The architect, Frank P. Milburn, predicted the
new courthouse would be “an honor and ornament
to Bath County for generations.” It contained
a central rotunda with exhibit space, a fire-
proof vault, and elaborate facilities for jurors
including overnight rooms with “nice single iron
beds” and toilets. The building burned in 1912,
but the county records dating from 1791 onward
survived with the loss of only one order book
left outside the vault overnight. In 1914 a new,
Classical Revival-style courthouse, designed by
T. J. Collins and Son, was completed on the
same foundation. An addition doubled its size
in 1980.
Marker is on County Route 619 west of U.S. 220, on the right when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
