330 North George Street will soon be the new Jefferson County courthouse.
The Jefferson County courts will soon have a new home. The County Commission approved the purchase of the building at 330 North George Street in Charles Town. The building will house all of the Circuit Court, Magistrate Court, and Family Court functions.
The Jefferson County court system is currently located in several buildings in downtown Charles Town (photos below) — the historic Jefferson County Court House (100 East Washington St), the courthouse annex building (119 North George St), and the St Margaret’s Building (110 North George St).
During the discussion at the March 20 County Commission meeting, the commissioners noted the improvements to public access and security that would result from moving to the new building. The county’s facilities director had previously prepared an analysis of the projected costs for maintaining and upgrading the existing facilities. The Commission staff compared those costs against the cost of acquiring the new building to recommend the purchase.
According to the information disclosed during the meeting, the purchase price is $6.952 million, and the cost per square foot is $154.
The North George building is adjacent to the building at 393 North Lawrence Street (see map below). The County Commission previously announced it will be purchasing the North Lawrence building to house most of the county’s operations.
The purchase agreement was finalized during an executive session held earlier in the meeting. The County Commission said it would be releasing more details of the property acquisition, including the financing details, by March 21. The County Commission deferred any discussion about what it will do with the current court system buildings.
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Published 2025 Mar 21.
By Steve Pearson