The State House in St. George's is one of the oldest standing English buildings in the New World and it is surrounded by historic buildings such as Bridge House, Buckingham, Reeve Court, Casino and the Redan Hotel complex making this section of St. George's one of the most important historic neighbourhoods in the New World.

The State House was built by Governor Nathaniel Butler in 1620 and was one of the first buildings in Bermuda to be built of Bermuda stone. The walls of the building are two feet thick and its original roof was flat. The flat roof was replaced with a sloping roof in the 1630s and a porch chamber was added to the building in 1733.

Although it was not built specifically for military purposes, its construction and location suggest that it could be used as a keep or blockhouse if it became necessary.

The building was built on high ground and was surrounded by a high fence and in the early years of the island's development the upper storey of the building served as a magazine for the island's gunpowder. The magazine was damaged by high winds on several occasions and was threatened by fire in 1701 and again in 1732. This dangerous situation continued until the 1760s when Governor George Bruere allowed a new magazine to be built on his land to the north of the town.

The State House was also called the Sessions House or the Court House as it was used by the Colonial Parliament and as a place where justice was served upon Bermuda's criminals.

The Court met four times a year and sentences such as floggings were often carried out at the court house door. Starting in the 1730s, the building was a venue for celebrations such as the Monarch's birthday and for ballroom dancing and in 1780 during the American Revolution the building also served as barracks for British troops from South Carolina and New York.

On December 24, 1814, the final meeting of the General Assembly was held in the State House as Hamilton became Bermuda's capital on January 1, 1815. The building was rented to the Masonic Lodge, St. George's No. 200 at an annual rent of one peppercorn to be paid if demanded on the Feast of St. John.

Payment is made annually during the Peppercorn Ceremony on the Wednesday nearest St. George's Day, April 23. The Peppercorn Ceremony is one of the highlights of the year in the Town of St. George's and it is on this day that the Cabinet of the Bermuda Government hold their traditional annual St. George's meeting in the State House.

In 1969 the State House was restored to the way it would have looked in 1621 and it is an important part of the unique architectural heritage of the Town of St. George's which led to the Historic Town and Related Fortifications being designated a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Cultural & Scientific Organisation (UNESCO) in December, 2000.