Corporation Court House

Inscription:

Left Side:

A former court house, erected on this site in 1733, was torn down in 1851 to permit the erection of this court house.”

Right Side:

Fredericksburg Corporation Court House Historical Data

Courthouse erected 1851-52
Brick walls stuccoed – 1916
Bell. Made by Paul Revere
Foundry, Boston, presented to city by Silas Wood of New York – 1829

The clerk’s office contains many historical documents
among which are –

The will of Mary Washington, Mother of our illustrious George
dated 1789

Commission to Augustine Washington, father of George, appointing him trustee of Fredericksburg
dated 1742.”

Research:

As many as 10 different courthouses sat on the site of the present day courthouse. Until its incorporation, as a town in 1781, the Fredericksburg courthouse served as the courthouse for the entirety of Spotsylvania County.(1) When the city of Fredericksburg was declared an independent city, the

Fredricksburg Courthouse was renamed the Fredericksburg Corporation Courthouse.(2)  Due to lack of space at the Spotsylvania Courthouse, the Fredericksburg Courthouse was also used for the Spotsylvania’s District Court and the series of Superior Courts to follow from 1789 until 1889.(3)

The original courthouse was built on this site between 1736 and 1740, modeled after an English town hall – similar to that of Hanover County, Virginia which still stands today. James Monroe, John Marshall, and Bushrod Washington all practiced law in this building, the famous trial of the Baptist Dissenters in 1768 took place in the old Fredericksburg courthouse.(5)

The present courthouse, designed by James Renwick in the French Gothic style, was completed in 1852, replacing the original building which was demolished. During the Battle of Fredericksburg and Union occupation this building was used as a hospital, jail and signal station.(4) Renwick later designed “The Castle” of the Smithsonian in Washington D.C., and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. The current building has been renovated twice: once shortly after World War II, and a lesser renovation in 1991-2. The famous view of Princess Anne Street of the spires of the Fredericksburg Corporation Court and Baptist Church has become a staple view of downtown Fredericksburg.

The bell of the Fredericksburg Circuit Courthouse was made at the Paul Revere Foundry in Boston and is only one of the 334 surviving Revere Foundry bells and the only known Revere bell in Virginia. The Paul Revere foundry was founded in 1792 and was renowned for being one of the best bell makers in the United States. In the last year of the foundry’s operation, Silas Wood bought and donated a Revere Bell to the Corporation of Fredericksburg, to thank the city for introducing him to the love of his life.(6) This bell was then lofted into the main tower of the Court House, where it still continues to hang today.(7)

Today, the old Fredericksburg Courthouse is the home of the Fredericksburg School board. The two plaques on the wall next to the entryway set this building apart from the surrounding churches in the area, showing its purpose as a government building. It’s proximity to the old churches, the new Fredericksburg courthouse, and James Monroe’s law offices solidify the claim that this building was an integral part of the history of Fredericksburg. From its construction by James Renwick in the mid-19th century to its current use for Fredericksburg schools, the old Courthouse remains an important landmark to the overall landscape of Fredericksburg.

Notes:

Featured Image:

     Lakelyn Wiley, “Corporation Courthouse Historic Building Plaque in Fredericksburg, Virginia,” 2018.

(1) “Circuit Court for the City of Fredericksburg, VA,” Fredericksburgva.gov, accessed 27 March 2018. https://www.fredericksburgva.gov/index.aspx?NID=1026

(2) Ibid.

(3) John F. Cummings III, Images of America: Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania Court House (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2002), 35.

(4) Ibid., 59.

(5) “Circuit Court for the City of Fredericksburg, VA,” Fredericksburgva.gov, accessed 27 March 2018, https://www.fredericksburgva.gov/index.aspx?NID=1026

(6) Robert Martello, Midnight Ride, Industrial Dawn: Paul Revere and the Growth of American Enterprise (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010), 157.

(7) Business, “A Historic Bell in Fredericksburg Rings Out a Love Story,” Fredericksburg Today, published 11 February 2017, accessed 27 March 2018. https://fredericksburg.today/2017/02/11/a-historic-bell-in-fredericksburg-rings-out-a-love-story/

(8) Ibid.

(9) Ibid.,  “A Historic Bell in Fredericksburg Rings Out a Love Story,” Fredericksburg Today, published 11 February 2017, accessed 27 March 2018. https://fredericksburg.today/2017/02/11/a-historic-bell-in-fredericksburg-rings-out-a-love-story/

Tagged with: Civil War, Buildings, 17th Century, Court House, Legal History, James Monroe