Last updated: October 2, 2019
Place
Old Monroe County Courthouse, Alabama
Old Monroe County Courthouse by Wmr36104. CC BY SA 3.0.
Quick Facts
Location:
Courthouse Square, Monroeville, Alabama
Significance:
Setting for To Kill a Mockingbird
Designation:
National Register of Historic Places
MANAGED BY:
The Old Monroe County Courthouse was built in 1903, and the courts and offices moved here from the pre-Civil War courthouse in 1904. It is a prominent Alabama literary landmark because of its association with Harper Lee and Truman Capote, as well as a structure significant to Monroe County as its seat of government.
During their early years, Truman Capote and Harper Lee were next door neighbors in Monroeville. At that time, the courthouse was the scene of social occasions, as well as the center of political and legal transactions. Both Capote and Lee mention this building in their writings. In Capote's autobiographical book, A Christmas Memory, there is a brief mention of it. Harper Lee made the courthouse a central setting in her Pulitzer Prize winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, published in 1960. She had often sat in the balcony watching her father practice law here. The film starring Gregory Peck was not shot on location. Instead, the set designer made careful measurements and photographs, and recreated the courtroom on a soundstage in Hollywood.
The Old Monroe County Courthouse is one of several properties operated by the Monroe County Museum. Renovations of the building were done between 1991 and 2002, and the courtroom was restored to its 1930s appearance.
The Old Monroe County Courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 26, 1973. You can read the full nomination at the National Archives website.
Notes:
For another location associated with Truman Capote, see Carrington House, New York https://www.nps.gov/places/carrington-house.htm
References:
Floyd, W. Warner. National Register of Historic Places Nomination: Old Monroe County Courthouse
Monroe County Museum. Old Courthouse Museum https://www.monroecountymuseum.org/old-courthouse-museum