This marker is located on the east side of Monroeville’s downtown square, just north of the intersection of South Alabama Avenue and Claiborne Street in Monroeville. The marker sits in front of the Old Monroe County Courthouse, which has been called the “Most Famous Courthouse in America.”
The Alabama Historical Association erected this marker in 1995. There’s printing on both sides of this marker, but the printing is the same on both sides. What follows is the complete text from the marker.
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“The Old Monroe County Courthouse, designed by prominent Southern architect Andrew Bryan, was built between 1903 and 1904 during the tenure of Probate Judge Nicholas Stallworth. One of two buildings of this type designed by Bryan (a sister courthouse in LaGrange, Georgia was destroyed by fire), the architectural style is Romanesque with a Georgian influence. It was constructed by Louisville, Kentucky contractor M.T. Lewman. The courthouse was the seat of most county offices and the site of court cases until the construction of the new courthouse in 1963. The lasting fame of this building is derived from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” as well as the motion picture of the same name which features the now famous courtroom scene. Today this site is on the National Historic Register and is a national literary Mecca."
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I lived and worked in Monroeville for a number of years, and it’s one of the most remarkable places you’ll ever visit. With a population of just over 6,500, this small southern town is best known as the hometown of world famous authors Harper Lee and Truman Capote. The state legislature named it the “Literary Capital of Alabama” in 1997.
One common misconception about the Old Monroe County Courthouse is that the courthouse scenes from the motion picture version of “To Kill a Mockingbird” were filmed in the courthouse in Monroeville. Actually, film producers built a replica of the courtroom based on photos and measurements of the Monroeville courthouse and filmed the scenes in the movie in a sound studio in California. If you’ve ever watched the movie, you’ll know that it’s a very close match.
On a personal note, last July, as part of my ongoing “bucket list” project, I climbed to the top of the courthouse’s clock tower, which is something that I’d always wanted to do. The building now houses the Monroe County Heritage Museum, and the museum staff was gracious enough to give me access to the clock tower. The tower has three levels and a trip to the top is not for the faint of heart. You have to navigate a set of narrow, pull-down stairs, and I came down drenched in sweat due to the humid conditions of the tower. (That’s not to say that I didn't enjoy the experience.) To read more about that trip, visit http://leepeacock2010.blogspot.com/2012/07/bucket-list-update-no-103-climb-to-top.html.
In the end, visit this site next Wednesday to learn about another local historical marker. I’m also taking suggestions from the reading audience, so if you know of an interesting historical marker that you’d like me to feature, let me know in the comments section below.
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