Downtown Blairsville: The Courthouse Square, Stop by Stop

Blairsville is the county seat of Union County and the only incorporated town in it (City of Blairsville). Its downtown is compact: the old courthouse stands in the middle of a traffic circle on the Town Square, and almost everything below is within a few minutes’ walk of the courthouse lawn.

1. 

   011899 · 3 Town Square

   The Old Courthouse Museum

   Condemned in the 1970s and saved by the Union County Historical Society, the brick courthouse in the middle of the square is now the Society's museum, with free admission. It is open Monday to Friday, 10 to 4, and also Saturdays 11 to 3 from May through December.

   Source: Union County Historical Society, checked 2026-10-16

   The square, stop by stop

2. 

   02Friday nights

   Mountain music in the old courthouse

   From May through October, and again in December, local bluegrass and mountain bands play Friday nights at the old courthouse. Still to come in 2026: October 23 and 30, then December 4, 11 and 18. The schedule does not list a start time, so call the Society at (706) 745-5493.

   Source: Historical Society 2026 concert schedule, checked 2026-10-16

   The full calendar

3. 

   0362 Blue Ridge Street

   City Hall, in the 1934 jail

   Just off the square, City Hall works out of the old Union County Jail, built of stone in 1934 and on the National Register since 1985. The office is open weekdays, 8 to 4:30.

   Source: National Park Service, checked 2026-10-16

4. 

   04Around the square

   Grits, books, chocolate and coffee

   The chamber's directory lists a bookstore, a mill store selling stone-ground grits and cornmeal, antiques and gifts, a coffeehouse, an Italian café and a chocolate shop on the square itself, with more places to eat a block or two away.

   Source: Blairsville-Union County Chamber directory, checked 2026-10-16

   Where to eat and shop

5. 05One block south

   The Mountain Life Museum

   The Historical Society's second site keeps the 1906 Grapel Mock House and the 1861 Payne Cabin. The grounds are free to walk; building tours are $5 (12 and under free), Thursday to Saturday, May through December.

   Source: Union County Historical Society, checked 2026-10-16

The courthouse and its story

The red-brick courthouse was built in 1899. The Union County Historical Society credits the design to courthouse architect J.W. Golucke, while the National Park Service’s record lists the architects as Golucke & Stewart (Historical Society). It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 18, 1980, as part of Georgia’s county-courthouses listing (NPS record 80001249).

By the 1970s the building had been condemned. The Historical Society saved it from demolition and has restored and run it since (Historical Society). Today it is the Society’s museum, with exhibits on local history, a military museum and a dollhouse collection (City of Blairsville).

• The Old Courthouse Museum is open Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., from January through April. From May through December it is also open on Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Union County Historical Society
• Admission to the Old Courthouse Museum is free, and a small donation for upkeep is appreciated. School groups can book educational tours. Union County Historical Society
• You can reach the Union County Historical Society at (706) 745-5493. Its mailing address is P.O. Box 35, Blairsville, GA 30514. Union County Historical Society

How the square is laid out

The courthouse sits inside a traffic circle. Cleveland Street comes in from the south, Pat Haralson Memorial Drive from the north, Blue Ridge Street from the west, and Wellborn Street and Candler Drive from the east. That layout comes from Wikipedia; we have not found an official street map from the city.

Parking

Neither the city nor the downtown development authority publishes a parking map for the square that we could find. If you need parking details for a visit, City Hall is the place to ask: (706) 745-2000, weekdays 8 to 4:30. On festival days at Meeks Park, two miles west, the organizers handle parking at the park itself.

Shops on the square

• Book Bound Bookstore

  Shop

  32 C Town Square, Blairsville, GA 30512

  Independent bookstore (new fiction, nonfiction, children's, local-interest titles)

  Source: Blairsville-Union County Chamber, checked 2026-10-16

• The Farmer's Daughter

  Shop

  32 A Town Square, Blairsville, GA 30512

  Retailer of farm-fresh merchandise, artisan items and regional goods

  Source: Blairsville-Union County Chamber, checked 2026-10-16

• Sunflowers on the Square

  Shop

  80 Town Square, Blairsville, GA 30512

  Antiques, gifts and home furnishings/interiors

  Source: Blairsville-Union County Chamber, checked 2026-10-16

• Logan Turnpike Mill (store)

  Shop

  12-A Town Square, Blairsville, GA 30512

  Local stone-ground grits, cornmeal, flours and baking mixes

  Source: Blairsville-Union County Chamber, checked 2026-10-16

• Hemlock Trading Co

  Shop

  36 A Town Square, Blairsville, GA 30512

  Source: Blairsville-Union County Chamber, checked 2026-10-16

• Ambry's Attic

  Shop

  94 Town Square, Suite K, Blairsville, GA 30512

  Source: Blairsville-Union County Chamber, checked 2026-10-16

Museums and historic buildings

• Old Union County Courthouse museum

  Museum · on the square

  3 Town Square

  The Old Courthouse Museum is open Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., from January through April. From May through December it is also open on Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission to the Old Courthouse Museum is free, and a small donation for upkeep is appreciated. School groups can book educational tours.

  Source: Union County Historical Society, checked 2026-10-16

• Mountain Life Museum

  Museum · one block south

  25 Veterans Memorial Drive

  The Historical Society's Mountain Life Museum is one block south of the square at 25 Veterans Memorial Drive. It includes the 1906 Grapel Mock House and the 1861 Payne Cabin. The grounds are free to walk, and building tours cost $5 per person (children 12 and under free) on Thursday through Saturday, May through December.

  Source: Union County Historical Society, checked 2026-10-16

• Blairsville City Hall (the 1934 jail)

  Historic building · off the square

  62 Blue Ridge Street

  City Hall is the old Union County Jail, built in 1934. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 13, 1985.

  Source: National Park Service, checked 2026-10-16

Events on the square

The city lists the square’s yearly events as the Spring Arts & Crafts Festival, the Memorial Day parade, the Green Bean Festival, a bluegrass festival, the Sorghum parade, Hometown Halloween and the Christmas parade (City of Blairsville). The dated ones still ahead this year:

Questions about the square

Dates, hours and fees change. For anything official, the city has the final word: City of Blairsville official site