Who would guess that this old garage, located on the west side of Hillsboro Street in Pittsboro until it burned in the late 1920s was, in its earlier life, Chatham County's first courthouse and jail.

Earlier courts were held in the home of Stephen Poe until this building was constructed south of Robeson Creek. The area was called "Chatham Courthouse." The town of Pittsboro didn't yet exist.

The courthouse in this picture is the one raided by David Fanning in July 1781. Amazing, isn't it, that it survived into the 1920s, when it burned along with half a block of other frame buildings on Pittsborough's main street. I wonder if its history was appreciated back then. How fortunate we are to have this photo of it.

Photo from the UNC-CH Wilson Library North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives. Subseries 1:19 Chatham County, Folder 0246: Pittsboro Courthouse, Scan 13.

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