Fayette County Courthouse Historic District

The Fayette County Courthouse Historic District is a historic district covering the downtown central business district of Fayette, Alabama. The majority of the buildings in the district were constructed soon after a fire destroyed the town in 1911; the architectural styles reflect common styles in commercial buildings around the Southern United States at the beginning of the 20th century. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, and the boundaries of the district were increased in 2014.HistoryIn 1883, Fayette County's courthouse was located about one mile (1.6 km) from the current location of downtown Fayette. That year, the Georgia Pacific Railway line between Columbus, Mississippi, and Birmingham was extended through Fayette County. Merchants began to move along the line, and in 1892, a new courthouse was constructed in the town that had grown near the station.The majority of the central business district, including the courthouse, were destroyed by a fire on March 24, 1911. As the town began to rebuild, the town council passed building codes requiring all downtown structures to be constructed of brick, stone, or concrete.Contributing structuresThe district contains 26 contributing properties, most of which were built soon after the fire of 1911. Most of the properties in the district face Temple Avenue, which runs north-to-south through downtown.