BURGAW, NC (WWAY) — Burgaw is widely known for its annual Blueberry Festival, which has taken place since 2004 and attracted thousands of visitors to the town. At the center of it all stands the Pender County Courthouse, which has quite the past of its own.
Pender County itself was formed in 1875, with Watha its original county seat. But that was changed to Burgaw in 1877 with a courthouse coming not long after. The original courthouse was a two-story wood frame housed moved to the corner of Wright Street and Freemont Street in 1879, with the court room on the second story.
A new courthouse followed in 1885 on the four-acre town square with a brick structure being used this time at a cost of just under $10,000. It was used as a school and community center, along with its courthouse role. The third and present courthouse arrived in the same spot as the second one on November 6, 1936 as a three-story building designed with several unique features by William Dietrick…