Montgomery County Courthouse

The old courthouse fell in a fire that took far more than one building. The great arson fire of 1878 destroyed fifteen acres of Clarksville's central business district, and Black-owned businesses were especially hurt. The county seat had been a tobacco inspection point since 1788, and the first steamboat appeared at Clarksville in 1820. The courthouse built the next year rose at the center of a downtown that had to be rebuilt around it while the river trade carried on.

What the plaque says

Montgomery County Courthouse The Montgomery County Courthouse was erected in 1878-79 after fire destroyed the courthouse of 1843. In 1900 the courthouse was damaged by fire but was rebuilt. In 1999 an F3 tornado struck Clarksville, severely damaging the courthouse. The interior of the historic building was then redesigned and its exterior restored. This property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Fort Defiance Civil War Park and Interpretive Center — 1.2 mi
  An intact earthwork fort above the Cumberland and Red Rivers in Clarksville, begun with forced Black labor and later a contraband camp and recruiting center for Black soldiers.
• Dunbar Cave State Park — 3.6 mi
  A Clarksville cave with 800-year-old Mississippian artwork, later a resort and Roy Acuff's dance stage, now a state park with seasonal guided tours.
• Cross Creeks National Wildlife Refuge — 24 mi
  An 8,862-acre refuge on the Cumberland River floodplain near Dover, made in 1962 to replace habitat Lake Barkley flooded, wintering tens of thousands of waterfowl.

More markers nearby

• Pioneer Newspaper — steps away
• Austin Peay — steps away
• Clarksville's Slave Market — steps away
• Horace H. Lurton — steps away