Courthouse anchors quaint downtown business district of Louisburg, NC

I first visited Louisburg, N.C., Franklin County, in January 2021. The first batch of the COVID vaccines had come to North Carolina, and that was the one of the first places I heard about having it available. 

It was a long drive for me — an hour, almost exactly; Franklin County is immediately north of Wake County, home of the state capital, Raleigh. But to get the vaccination was worth it. I had to return a month later to get the second round of COVID immunization. The shots were administered on the grounds of the Franklin County Health Department, sort of the far eastern fringe of the town limits. 

I never got to see the heart of Louisburg's downtown on either of those trips, and I later learned there is a two-year Methodist private community college in the town. That piqued my interest, given my fondness for photo-documenting university and college campus landscapes. So I made a mental note to try and get back to Louisburg to check out the downtown and college campus.

That happened Dec. 5. It again took me an hour to reach Louisburg, but I started shooting downtown and worked my way on foot to the college campus a few blocks north of the heart of downtown. 

Today's post will be devoted to the downtown area; the next post will focus on the college campus. A full gallery of images taken in downtown Louisburg can be view by following the link in this sentence. 

Because Louisburg is the county seat, the heart of its downtown is the county courthouse, shown in the photo leading off the post. While in Louisburg, I learned two things -- both dovetailing to the four years of Latin I took when I was in high school.

The first is illustrated in the photo below, a mural I came across on the town's Nash Street. The Latin phrase "Esse Quam Vidieri" means to be, rather than to seem, which I learned, by researching the phrase online after I got home, is the state motto of North Carolina. 

While doing that research, I came across another Latin phrase, "Leges Juraque Vindicamus," which means "We defend laws and justice." And that, it turns out, is the Franklin County motto.

While Main Street is the original merchants' district in Louisburg, a few blocks east of Main is North Bickett Boulevard, which is the local name for U.S. 401. It's a much-more traveled thoroughfare and has quite a few business establishments there. A couple blocks east of Bickett on Industrial Drive is where the County Health Department is located, and that was my destination on my first visits to Louisburg back in 2021. 

For a gallery containing all the images I took in downtown Louisburg, follow the link in this sentence. The three churches are in separate galleries in the Communities/North Carolina/Louisburg folder. 

A view of the intersection of Nash and Main streets (above), looking northeast. A closer view of the town clock (below) and an even closer view of the clock (second photo below). 

The Tar River flows just south of the start of the main downtown business district along Main Street. Above is the Main Street bridge over the river, looking south. 

Above: A view of Johnson Street, looking northeast from Main Street. 

Above: While standing on the Main Street bridge, I got this shot of the Tar River, looking east. 

The Judge Hamilton Hobgood Courthouse Annex (above), located across Main Street from the courthouse. Just north of the annex, are these shops (below), including one of several law offices I came across sprinkled around the courthouse. 

Above: The Franklin County Administration Building on Johnson Street, catty corner from the courthouse. 

Mad Flavorz Wing Lounge (above) at 200 E. Nash St., and a view of North Main Street shops (below), including The Loft, an event-hosting business. 

Outside Tar Bank Brewing Company (above), 108 N. Main St., there is a mailbox for children to mail letters to Santa Claus (below). The brewery is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so I was out of luck given that I did my shoot on a Tuesday.  

A long focal-range compression shot (above) of Main Street, looking north from the north end of the Tar River bridge. Below, a shorter-range shot of Main Street, again looking north, just outside the main business district. 

Above: A southward look at the Main Streete business district from just north of Nash Street. 

Above and below: Front and side views of a seasonal display outside this shop (unnamed) on Main between Nash and Franklin streets, next door to Tar Bank Brewing. In the second photo below, a mural on the north side of the unnamed shop.  

The town post office (above) had this interesting tree (below) growing outside its building. 

Above and next two below: Views of Louisburg Baptist Church, 302 N. Main St. 

Above: A stately home just north of the Baptist Church on North Main Street. 

Above: I used this tree to frame the turret-highlighted home behind it. 

Above: The morning light was not kind to me when I tried to photograph the front facade of Louisburg United Methodist Church at 402 N. Main St. 

Above and next three photos below: Natural light was more helpful when I reached St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 305 N. Church St., later in the afternoon and took these shots.