diff --git a/artemis-server/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/core/persistence/impl/journal/JournalStorageManager.java b/artemis-server/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/core/persistence/impl/journal/JournalStorageManager.java
index 827cc5ff89d..95499e75e61 100644
--- a/artemis-server/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/core/persistence/impl/journal/JournalStorageManager.java
+++ b/artemis-server/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/core/persistence/impl/journal/JournalStorageManager.java
@@ -715,7 +715,7 @@ private Map<SimpleString, Collection<Integer>> getPageInformationForSync(PagingM
    private void checkAndCreateDir(final File dir, final boolean create) {
       if (!dir.exists()) {
          if (create) {
-            if (!dir.mkdirs()) {
+            if (!dir.mkdirs() && !dir.exists()) {
                throw new IllegalStateException("Failed to create directory " + dir);
             }
          } else {