Courthouse Renovations Continue

You may have noticed in passing, the many renovations happening on Bolivar’s square. Two projects in particular, The Hardeman County Courthouse restoration and the Luez Theatre project have garnered much attention due to the historical ties dating back 193 years.
In the City of Bolivar’s history, three courthouses have stood on the court square, with two of these buildings still in existence today. The first courthouse was a two-story log courthouse erected on the court square in 1824. It only served four years and in 1827, was sold to Levi Joy, a settler from Boston, and he had it moved to its present location on East Market Street/Highway 64 East. Now owned and maintained by the Hardeman County APTA, The Little Courthouse Museum is the oldest log building in West Tennessee, and is one of five log courthouses that are still standing in the United States.
From 1862 until May 1864 Bolivar was under military law. During this occupation, the Union Generals: Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, J.B. McPherson and Lew Wallace made visits. In May 1864 General Sturgis came with his 12,000 soldiers. He decided to make the town useless to any army and especially the Confederates who had defeated him in battle. Pitzer Miller was a local merchant in Bolivar at the time and he had a good relationship with one of the Union Generals.

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