(JUNE 2, 2026) — A historic, downtown Canton icon has been restored and is once again being used in the community. Cherokee County and the Blue Ridge Judicial Court Circuit officially cut the ribbon on 94 North Street June 1.
County, judicial, and court staff joined with community members for a short program and tour Monday. Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce President Pam Carnes emceed the event, and speakers included Chairman Harry Johnston and Chief Superior Court Judge David Cannon Jr.
“The dedication of this building was on May 2, 1926 – 100 years and 30 days ago, and it is still being used today,” Johnston said, as he shared the history of the building with those in attendance. “It’s a win-win-win. We get the preservation of a historic building, we get more space and suitable space, and save money all at the same time.”
The building at 94 North Street was the original home to Canton United Methodist Church. It was built in the 1920s, and the church held services in the building until the 1990s when it relocated to Lower Scott Mill Road. The building at 94 North Street then served as the headquarters for the Cherokee County Arts Center. It housed Cherokee County Arts Council offices, as well as an exhibit room to showcase many exhibits over the years, from 1998-2022. Cherokee County regained ownership of the property after the arts center ceased operations in 2022 and began making plans to refurbish the building to relocate judicial offices.
Relocating offices from the Frank C. Mills Justice Center opens up space in the main building for judicial operations while the County works on the long-term solution for space with the Justice Center expansion, a Tier 1 project in the SPLOST 2024 program.
Chief Superior Court Judge David Cannon said the Justice Center has served the county well over the last three decades, and they have outgrown it several times over the years. This renovation and addition has freed up space to move essential personnel back into the Justice Center and provide conference space for mediations. He said the auditorium has quickly become an ideal location for special events like Accountability Court graduations.
“This is the second big event we’ve had in this building and it just opened,” Cannon said. “We had our largest Drug Court graduation (Friday). We graduated our 208th participant …, and because we had a little more space, we invited the arresting officers, the prosecutors, and the defense attorneys to the graduation.”
The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners engaged Hogan Construction as the Construction Manager at Risk in 2024. While total project costs are being finalized, it is estimated the construction costs totaled $6.6 million for the century-old building. The County used about $3.4 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds with the remainder being paid for with Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax dollars. Pieper, O’Brien, Herr Architects designed the renovations.
The renovation and addition allowed the Indigent Defense Office, recently named for David L. Cannon Sr., Accountability Court offices, and the Drug Lab to relocate. The auditorium was also refreshed and is already being used for for court functions like accountability court graduations.
The exterior brick received tuckpointing, which included removing deteriorating mortar and replacing it with fresh mortar, and overall cleaning. New windows and a new roof were installed, and fresh paint brightened up the exterior. New stair towers and stairway were added to meet current building code requirements.
Interior improvements included new paint and flooring throughout, new lighting, new mechanical systems, office space, lab space and new employee restrooms.
The auditorium improvements included new lighting, new mechanical systems, fully renovated public restrooms, new multiple sized meeting spaces for the accountability courts, new carpet, and renovation of the balcony seating to meet current building codes and improve circulation.
