The historic Bamberg County Courthouse pictured on Monday, March 16, 2026. The Legislature is considering $20 million in state funding to renovate rural courthouses, with Bamberg County being at the top of the list. (Photo by Jessica Holdman/SC Daily Gazette)
BAMBERG — On a wet March morning, some 30 people awaiting their day in court filed, along with their families, into a former National Guard armory-turned-civic hall on Bamberg’s main highway.
They passed one by one through a metal detector and took a seat in a plastic folding chair on their assigned side of a black curtain — the accused on one side, victims on the other — a piece of fabric the only thing between them.
Those brought from the county jail wearing bright orange jumpsuits sat shackled inside a tunnel-like room that, on other days of the month, city police use as a practice firing range. Paper targets still hung on the walls. Jail officers stood over the group keeping watch.
It was supposed to be temporary until the county’s 19th century courthouse could be renovated.
Instead, it has been five years since the county vacated the building with no progress made.
Now Chief Justice John Kittredge, having visited the makeshift court building last year, has stepped in. The state’s top judge asked legislators to set aside $20 million in the state budget for a rural county courthouse repair fund.
So far, the House has agreed, including it in the first draft of the state spending plan.
Under the proposal, any county with a population less than 35,000 — which describes 19 of the state’s 46 counties — could apply for a grant.
However, Kittredge told senators last month that Bamberg County (population 13,000) will likely take the bulk of this funding in the coming fiscal year, should the General Assembly approve it.
“They are using a warehouse,” he told Senate budget writers about the building 60 miles south of Columbia. “It is not efficient. It is not functional. It poses a very imminent security risk.”
The courtroom is a former classroom. Green chalkboards still hang on the walls. Everyone sits in plastic chairs. The attorneys’ desks are tables on rollers so the room can be rearranged to squeeze in a 12-member jury when needed for trial.
The building, last used as an armory more than 20 years ago, doesn’t belong to Bamberg County. It’s under control of the county seat by the same name. The city of roughly 3,000 people lends out space in the building typically used by its police department and municipal court.
There’s no central air. No heat. Paint peels off the brick walls from the lack of temperature control. Only a pair of window units and pedestal fans behind the bench give limited relief on days when the mercury soars to 100 degrees or more.
In the case of a trial, jury selection takes place in the garage-like center of the building. The jury room for deliberations is a temporary construction trailer parked in the back, accessed by walking through a small kitchenette.
All in all, it’s hardly conducive to justice, said Rep. Justin Bamberg, whose district covers the rural county in southwestern South Carolina.
But the biggest issue is safety, said the Democrat from Bamberg.
Court proceedings mark some of the most intense moments in people’s lives. But the quarters are so tight, the accused could nearly reach out and touch a person testifying.
“It’s super unbelievable to hear about,” said Justin Bamberg, who’s also an attorney. “Even more to see it. It’s a rough situation. We’ve just been doing the best we can.”
“A lot of judges don’t want to come down here,” he added.
On this particular rainy Monday, drops falling on the corrugated roof had the judge straining to hear as she ruled on plea deals, assigned lawyers, considered probation matters and conducted other common judicial business.
Sheriff Kenneth Bamberg, father of the state representative, stood behind each person facing charges. He prefers to be there himself, rather than pulling in one of his deputies, to see it directly in case something dangerous takes place.
He arrived earlier in the morning to escort Judge Debra McCaslin into the building. Before the hearings began, she sat in makeshift chambers — essentially a closet with bare white walls and a small desk.
It’s the first time she’s held court in the county.
And it’s a stark contrast from her home court: a glassy, $16 million judicial complex Lexington County built about 20 years ago. Lexington’s new building opened after then-Chief Justice Jean Toal ordered the county’s former New Deal–era courthouse closed due to toxic mold.
But unlike Lexington County, with its $130 million in annual property tax collections, Bamberg County struggles to raise the money on a tax base that’s about 1/12th the size and a population that’s about 24 times smaller.
“It’s like all of the needs of rural South Carolina,” Justin Bamberg said. “Our ‘don’t haves’ are so much freaking different than other parts of the state.”
And the need for a renovated courthouse has been building for some time.
In 2013, the county started developing a plan for the historic courthouse built in 1897 — the same year the county was established by breaking from Barnwell County.
Originally located in the center of town, the building was moved to its current spot in 1950, and four wings were added. It has remained largely unchanged ever since.
Then, in 2015, the county’s insurance carrier ordered that the boiler in the building no longer be used, ruling it an explosion hazard. Asbestos in the building materials created further hazards. Cracks in the brick formed along the wings where the foundation settled, creating leaks during thunderstorms, and pigeons infested the attic.
Justin Bamberg, whose law firm is in Bamberg, said he could look up in the solicitor’s office and see the sky peeking through the crevices.
Three years later, Bamberg County Council approved a resolution to finance the renovation, estimated at $6 million. Nothing happened.
In early 2022, the county tried again, authorizing debt refinancing and $7 million in new borrowing.
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And in 2023, the county got a $1 million earmark through the state budget sponsored by Rep. Bamberg for the courthouse, followed by a $1.5 million earmark for its “critical repairs” in 2024.
It’s unclear how that money was spent.
The county administrator did not respond in time for deadline to questions from the SC Daily Gazette about the failed efforts.
Today, the old courthouse is padlocked. Peeking through the rear glass doors, one can see ceiling tiles fallen to the floor. There are holes in the wooden boards under the eaves.
Fixing it up, Justin Bamberg said, will involve demolishing the wings and building them back, as well as upgrading the center of the structure and installing a larger elevator for those with physical disabilities.
In addition to the $20 million in state funds, the county could tap federal emergency management dollars by rebuilding it strong enough to serve as a disaster shelter.
And while the state fund would be created with Bamberg County in mind, Kittredge, in his request, wrote there are other county courthouses in need of security upgrades without the money to pay for them.
“Each South Carolinian has a fundamental right to access the court system, regardless of whether the county he or she resides in is rural or urban,” the Kittredge said.
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Courtesy of South Carolina Daily Gazette
