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Photograph of Pickens County Courthouse
Photograph by Calvin Beale, Public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Pickens County Courthouse

Built in 1878 (Italianate architecture). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

From the record

“The Pickens County Courthouse in the county seat of Carrollton, Alabama is the courthouse for Pickens County, Alabama. Built in 1877-1878 as the third courthouse in the city, it is noted for a ghostly image that can be seen in one of its garret windows.”

Wikipedia article Pickens County Courthouse (Alabama), CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 7 National Register listings published here for Pickens County · listed in 1994 · category: Building · built in 1878, Italianate architecture.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
  • Still standing. The Park Service records this property as extant.
  • Address. Jct. of AL 17, Phoenix St. (Co. Rd. 35) and Tuscaloosa St. (AL 86), Carrollton, 35447
  • When was it listed? May 1994
  • Category. building
  • Census division. Carrollton
  • When was it built? 1878
  • Architectural style. Italianate architecture
  • National Register reference number. 94000441 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

96 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 96 fires within 5 miles of Pickens County Courthouse between 1994 and 2020, burning about 758 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 14 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning38
Missing data/not specified/undetermined24
Arson/incendiarism14
Recreation and ceremony6
Smoking4
Natural4
Equipment and vehicle use3
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 1998Debris and open burning2.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
8 September 2004Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
8 September 1995Recreation and ceremony3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
8 September 1995Debris and open burning1.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
6 September 2000Debris and open burning3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
25 September 1999Debris and open burningunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
20 September 2000Arson/incendiarismunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
16 September 2000Debris and open burning5.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named

Every fire recorded in Pickens County

Storms near this property

37 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Carrollton, the town this property stands in, in 37 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 20 thunderstorm wind, 11 hail, 4 tornado, 1 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 2011Tornado (EF2)Carrollton$1,800,000A tornado developed along a Quasi-Linear Convective System. It touched down in central Pickens County, northwest of Carrollton, near the intersection of CR 7 and CR 26, where trees were snapped off. The tornado moved northeast and strengthened to an EF2 rating with winds of 120 mph as it approached CR 35 where it downed thousands of trees. The tornado crossed US Hwy 82 and AL Hwy 17 where it caused mostly tree damage across northwestern portions of Reform. East of AL Hwy 17, at least two outbuildings sustained roof damage along CR 3. Near the end of the tornado path, a home sustained minor wall damage and significant roof damage. The tornado lifted along CR 3, south of CR 57.
April 1996Thunderstorm WindCarrollton$100,000no account filed
May 2009Tornado (EF1)Carrollton$50,000The tornado touched down in Carrollton near the intersection of Rose Street and CR-35. It then tracked east-northeast and lifted in a rural area along Lubbub Creek. Several trees were snapped off or were blown down along the path. A few of the trees fell on homes and caused varying degrees of damage.
May 1998Tornado (F0)Carrollton$50,000A weak tornado touched down northwest of Carrollton and uprooted and snapped several trees. The tornado actually moved across the Pickens County Hospital on the north side of Carrollton on SR 17. Minor roof damage was done at the hospital but there were a number of trees down.
March 1996Thunderstorm WindCarrollton$30,000no account filed
July 2002Thunderstorm WindCarrollton$25,000The roof was blown off the Carriage House Antiques in downtown Carrollton. In addition, several trees and power lines were blown down in isolated locations across the county.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindCarrollton$7,000Numerous trees were knocked down across a significant portion of Pickens county, including in and around the cities of Carrollton and Aliceville, resulting in power and telephone line outages.
May 2010Thunderstorm WindCarrollton$5,000Stores in downtown Carrollton had merchandise blown down the street.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindCarrollton$5,000A roof was blown off a building near Pickens Academy.
July 1997Thunderstorm WindCarrollton$5,000Trees were uprooted in Carrollton in the central part of the county.
February 2003Thunderstorm WindCarrollton$3,000A few large trees were blown down on Highway 86 east of Carrollton. One tree was blocking the roadway.
April 2003Thunderstorm WindCarrollton$3,000A few trees were blown down between Carrollton and Aliceville.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindCarrollton$2,000Trees were blown down along AL Hwy 86.
January 2008Thunderstorm WindCarrollton$2,000Several trees were blown down on AL-86 near Carrollton.
October 2009Thunderstorm WindCarrollton$1,000Two trees were blown down on CR-35, near Carrollton.
February 2007Thunderstorm WindCarrollton$1,000Several trees were blown down on Pine Grove Road.
November 2000Thunderstorm WindCarrollton$1,000Several trees were blown down on SR 86 between Carrollton and Gordo. A few trees were also knocked down near Pickensville.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindCarrollton$500A tree was blown down and blocked CR-12, northwest of Carrollton.
January 2025Tornado (EF1)Carrollton-NWS meteorologists conducted a storm survey on January 6 that|revealed an EF1 tornado that impacted parts of Pickens County the|previous evening. The tornado began over an inaccessible area|southeast of Zach Simon Road and moved east-northeastward for|nearly seven miles. Along County Road 7, a house had metal|roofing removed, and several pine and cedar trees were downed or|had limbs broken off. The tornado was at its widest and strongest|point along Pine Grove Road, where numerous trees were downed,|including a stand of pine trees along the road of which|approximately 15-20 trunks were snapped. Power lines were downed|by falling trees. A couple uprooted pine trees fell onto a garage|and the adjacent house sustained partial roof loss. More trees|were uprooted and limbs were snapped as the tornado moved across|a farm along McDaniel Road. The path became more narrow along|McShane Road/Phoenix Avenue, where several trees were downed on|both sides of the road in a 125 yard-wide swath. Along County|Road 12, a few more trees and limbs were downed, and a small|wooden power pole was snapped, causing the power lines to fall.|Along Highway 17 near Herbert Windle Road, a couple trees were|downed near a house and across the highway several cedar limbs|were downed near another house. The tornado is estimated to have|ended at this point.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindCarrollton-Trees and power lines were downed in the Carrollton area.
May 2024HailCarrollton-Social media report of quarter-size hail in Carrollton.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindCarrollton-A supercell tracked south-southeast across southeast Pickens County and produced widespread straight-line wind damage. The damage consisted of numerous uprooted and snapped trees, with the most concentrated damage on Will House Road. The supercell eventually crossed into far northeast Greene County.
April 2020Thunderstorm WindCarrollton-Several trees uprooted and power lines downed.
August 2012Thunderstorm WindCarrollton-A tree was reported down on County Road 26, between Pine Grove and Carrollton.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindCarrollton-A tree was blown down onto power lines in Carrollton.
September 2011Flash FloodCarrollton-Numerous roads were flooded across Pickens county as a result of heavy rainfall from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee. Portions of Luther Coleman Rd and Cummings Rd, southwest of Carrollton, were washed out.
September 2011FloodCarrollton-Due to heavy rainfall from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee, several roads were flooded, or washed out, and remained closed through Tuesday morning, September 6.
February 2006HailCarrollton-Penny size hail was reported in Carrollton by the County Sheriff.
March 2005HailCarrollton-Penny size hail was reported just northwest of the city of Carrollton.
May 2003HailCarrollton-Hail up to the size of nickels was observed from the city of Carrollton southeastward all the way to the Greene County line.
April 2001HailCarrollton-Three quarter inch diameter size hail was reported in Carrollton.
June 2001HailCarrollton-Nickel size hail was reported in Carrollton.
May 1995HailCarrollton-Dime -ze hail along with small hail was reported at Stansel about four miles northeast of Carrollton along Highway 17.
March 1994HailCarrollton-A thunderstorm produced wind damage in the Carrollton-Gordo area as well as in the Reform area. Damage was light in the Reform area with a number of trees down, several blocking roads and several falling on other buildings. In the area from Carrollton to Gordo, many trees were downed and a number of structures sustained minor damage. A house near Aliceville reportedly suffered major damage.
March 2008HailCarrollton-no account filed
March 1996HailCarrollton-no account filed
March 1996HailCarrollton-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Pickens County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

2 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Hugh Wilson Hill Houseunder 500 feet1989
Stewart-Blanton House3.7 miles1985

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 94000441 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Pickens CountyAll 7 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.