While this structure is the “old” courthouse in Perry today, it is actually the third of four which have served Houston County [established in 1821]. The first courthouse was built on this site circa 1824. It was replaced with a brick courthouse in 1856, which served the county until this structure, built between 1948-1949, opened. A population boom in Houston County necessitated a new courthouse, which was built in 2002.
This courthouse was designed by architect E. Oren Smith in the style known as Stripped Classical. Smith was the son of Thomas W. Smith (1860-1926), a prominent Columbus architect.