The 1796 act creating Lincoln County provided for commissioners to select a county seat and build a courthouse, but further directed that elections and court sessions initially be held in the house of Joseph Stovall. The first court in Lincoln County was held in the old Ferguson House, which afterwards became the Dozier Hotel. Lincolnton was named as the county seat in about 1800.

A stone courthouse was built in 1804. The legislature incorporated it as a town on December 19, 1817 (GA Laws 1817, p.85). In 1874 the county borrowed $12,000 for the construction of a new, two story courthouse, (pictured to the left). It stood on the public square, where the Confederate Memorial now stands, until 1915. Since the old courthouse had become unsafe, it was torn down by the city.

The present Lincoln County Courthouse on Humphrey Street was built in 1915 and was designed by prominent architect G. Lloyd Preacher in the Neo-Classical Revival style. The couurthouse was constructed of red bricks that were made on-site from Lincoln County clay. The total cost of the courthouse was $24,340.