[Illustration: The old courthouse about 1920. Copy courtesy LeeHubbard. ] The Fairfax CountyCourthouse [Illustration] The Fairfax County Courthouse BY ROSS D. NETHERTON AND RUBY WALDECK Published by the Fairfax County Office of Comprehensive Planning underthe direction of the County Board of Supervisors in cooperation withthe Fairfax County History Commission July 1977 The following history publications are available from: Fairfax County Administrative Services Fairfax Building 10555 Main Street Fairfax, Va. 22030 703-691-2781 _Beginning at a White Oak. . . . The Patents and Northern Neck Grants of Fairfax County, Virginia_--Mitchell _Carlby_--Spann _Centreville_: Its History and Architecture--Smith _Colchester_: Colonial Port on the Potomac--Sprouse _Colvin Run Mill_--Netherton _Dunbarton, Dranesville, Virginia_--Poland _The Fairfax County Courthouse_--Netherton and Waldeck _The Fairfax County Courthouse_--1800--OCP--Brochure _Fairfax County in Virginia: Selections from Some Rare Sources_--OCP _Fairfax County Tour Map_--OCP and History Commission _Fairfax Family in Fairfax County: A Brief History_--Kilmer and Sweig _Historic Preservation for Fairfax County_--OCP _Historical Highlights of Bull Run Regional Park_--Cooling _Huntley_--Wrenn _Indices to Selected Maps from Hopkins' Atlas, 1879_--McMillion _Maplewood_--Rafuse _Moorefield_--DiBacco _Mount Air_--Sprouse _Registrations of Free Blacks, Fairfax County, Virginia, 1822-1861_--ed. Sweig _Wakefield Chapel_--Evans * * * * * _Sully: The Biography of a House_--Gamble Book available from the Fairfax County Park Authority * * * * * Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 77-84441 TABLE OF CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS FOREWORD INTRODUCTION 1 I. FAIRFAX COUNTY'S EARLY COURTHOUSES: 1742-1800 3 II. THE PROVIDENCE COURTHOUSE AND ITS RELATED BUILDINGS: 1800-1860 12 III. THE COUNTY COURT AND ITS OFFICERS 18 IV. THE WAR YEARS: 1861-1865 33 V. THE YEARS OF REBUILDING: 1865-1903 42 VI. THE TWENTIETH CENTURY COURTHOUSE 50 VII. THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE COURTHOUSE AND ITS RELATED BUILDINGS 58 1. The Courthouse Complex 58 2. The Courthouse 73 3. Restoration of the Original Wing of the Courthouse, 1967 87 APPENDIXES A. County Court Clerks: 1742-1976 107 B. Justices and Judges: 1742-1976 108 C. Portraits in the Old Courthouse--Biographies 117 D. Clerk's Office Specifications, _Alexandria Gazette_, July 15, 1853 121 E. Schedule of Reconstruction of the Courthouse, 1967 123 LIST OF SOURCES 127 ILLUSTRATIONS Front Cover--Courthouse about 1920 Back Cover--Court papers, 1976 Five Colonial Justices of the Fairfax County Court: George Washington; George Mason; Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax; George William Fairfax; and Bryan, eighth Lord Fairfax 2 Cartograph of Alexandria Courthouse Square 6 Surveys of courthouse lot, 1798-1924 15 Civil War view, 1862 32 Hopkins' map of Fairfax Court House, 1879 44 Marr monument's dedication, 1904 49 The Tavern, c. 1932 51 1907 courthouse picture 51 Two aerials of the courthouse and county center complex, 1970s 55 Clerk's Office, 1907 61 County Jail, 1886 63 Police Department, c. 1947 63 Naval Cannon 67 Marr Monument 67 War Memorial plaques 68 Central staircase mural 69 18th century English town and market halls 76 Two-story windows, c. 1966; double row windows, 1967 80 Courtroom remodeled in 1920 82 Central entrance, 1954 addition 83 Floor plans 88 Three views of the gutted courthouse, 1966 90 Two interiors of the courthouse restoration, c. 1968 92 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This monograph is one of a series of research reports on thehistorical and architectural landmarks of Fairfax County, Virginia. Ithas been prepared under the supervision of the Fairfax County Officeof Comprehensive Planning, in cooperation with the Fairfax CountyHistory Commission, pursuant to a resolution of the Board of CountySupervisors calling for a survey of the County's historic sites andbuildings. The authors of this report wish to acknowledge with thanks theassistance of Lindsey Carne, Mrs. J. H. Elliott, Lee Hubbard, Mrs. Jean Johnson Rust, and Mrs. Barry Sullivan, who provided informationand graphics for this publication. Also valuable were the comments ofthe Honorable James Keith, Circuit Court Judge; Mrs. Edith M. Sprouse;John K. Gott; Mrs. Catharine Ratiner; and Mayo S. Stuntz, all of whomreviewed the manuscript with care prior to its final revisions. Special thanks are tendered to the Honorable Thomas P. Chapman, Jr. And the Honorable W. Franklin Gooding, former Clerks of the Courts ofFairfax County; the Honorable James Hoofnagle, present Clerk of theCourts; and to Walter M. Macomber, architect of the 1967reconstruction of the original wing of the courthouse, who grantedextensive interviews which filled many of the gaps created by lack ofdocumentary sources. Throughout the entire research and writing of this report, the authorsreceived valuable guidance and comments from the members of theFairfax County History Commission and assistance from the staffs ofthe Fairfax County Public Library and the Virginia State Library. Finally, the authors acknowledge with thanks the help of Jay Linard, Mrs. Verna McFeaters, Ms. Virginia Inge, Ms. Irene Rouse, Ms. AnnetteThomas, and Ms. Robin Pedlar in manuscript preparation. Ross Netherton Ruby Waldeck FOREWORD _The Fairfax County Courthouse_ is an important addition to thehistorical record of Fairfax County, Virginia. It brings together inone volume a history of the Fairfax County Courthouses and a manual ofthe organization and operation of governmental affairs centered withinthem over the years. A particular insight with regard to the earlyyears of the county is evident. Dr. Netherton and Mrs. Waldeck describe the consequential role thecourthouse enjoyed as a social center as they examine the governmentalrole which made it the centerpiece of Fairfax County. The reader willnote that the early Fairfax County officials gained an understandingof the importance of democratic government in our nation through theirparticipation in county government while the people they serveddeveloped a sense of community through their interaction at thecourthouse. The present courthouse stands as a monument to thegovernmental and social prosperity Fairfax County has enjoyed. This text documents the story of the building which has stood at thecenter of almost two centuries of political life in Fairfax County. The extensive footnotes will prove an invaluable aid to scholarsexploring the history of the county. History students in our county'sschools will find _The Fairfax County Courthouse_ an importantaddition to their reading lists. We are all indebted to Ross Nethertonand Ruby Waldeck for their contribution in casting such a revealinglight upon the roots of Fairfax County, her people and government. James E. Hoofnagle Clerk of the Fairfax County Court INTRODUCTION Each generation of Americans has acknowledged its debt to Virginia'sleaders whose skill in politics was demonstrated so well in ahalf-century that saw independence achieved and a new republicestablished. They were products of a system of government which itselfhad been perfected over more than 150 years before the coloniesdeclared their independence. To these men--George Washington, GeorgeMason, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, John Marshall, George Wythe, James Madison, and the Carters--the County court was an academy foreducation in the art of government. Important as it was to sit in theHouse of Burgesses at Williamsburg, the lessons of politics and publicadministration were learned best in the work of carrying on thegovernment of a county. Virginia counties were unique in colonialhistory, for the considerable degree of autonomy enjoyed by the Countycourts gave them both a taste of responsibility for a wide range ofpublic affairs and a measure of insulation from the changes ofpolitical fortune which determined events in Williamsburg, and laterRichmond. In Virginia, the county courthouse was the focal point of publicaffairs. Usually built in a central location, with more regard foraccessibility from all corners of the county than for proximity toestablished centers of commerce, the courthouse came to be a uniquecomplex of buildings related to the work of the court. In time, mostof these clusters of buildings grew into towns or cities, butthroughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries many places shownon Virginia maps as "Court House" consisted literally of a countycourthouse and its related structures standing alone beside acrossroads. On court days, however, the scene changed. The monthly sessions of thecourt, conducted in colonial times by the "Gentleman Justices", provided opportunities to transact all manner of public business--fromissuing licenses and collecting taxes to hearing litigation andholding elections. They also were social events and market days; therepeople came to meet their friends, hear the news, see who camecircuit-riding with the justices, sell their produce, and buy whatthey needed. In the two centuries since independence, profound changes haveoccurred in all phases of life that were centered in the courthouse. In Fairfax County, the pace and extent of these changes have beenextensive. Architectural historians who note uniqueness in the factthat Virginia courthouses developed as a complex of related buildingsmay see ominous symbolism in the fact that today one of the structuresin the cluster around Fairfax County's courthouse is a modernfifteen-story county office building. Yet, at the same time thisoffice building was being planned, workmen were rehabilitating theoriginal section of the courthouse to represent its presumedappearance in an earlier time, thus providing a reminder of thehistoric role of county government in Virginia. [Illustration: Five Colonial Justices of the Fairfax CountyCourt--George Mason. ] [Illustration: Five Colonial Justices of the Fairfax CountyCourt--George Washington. ] [Illustration: Five Colonial Justices of the Fairfax CountyCourt--Bryan, later eighth Lord Fairfax. ] [Illustration: Five Colonial Justices of the Fairfax CountyCourt--Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax. ] [Illustration: Five Colonial Justices of the Fairfax CountyCourt--George William Fairfax. ] CHAPTER I FAIRFAX COUNTY'S EARLY COURTHOUSES, 1742-1800 Once the survival of the colony of Jamestown seemed assured, provisionfor the efficient and orderly conduct of public affairs receivedattention. The Jamestown colonist and his backers in the VirginiaCompany of London were familiar with county government structure inEngland, and from early colonial times the county was the basic unitof local government in Virginia. In the concept of county government, the role of the county court wascentral. As early as 1618, Governor Sir George Yeardley establishedthe prototype of the County Court in his order stating that "A CountyCourt be held in convenient places, to sit monthly, and to hear civiland criminal cases. "[1] The magistrates or justices who comprised thecourt were, as might be expected, the owners of the large plantationsand estates in the vicinity, and all were used to administering theaffairs of the people and lands under their control. Accordingly, administrative duties as well as judicial duties were given to thecourt, and the justices' responsibilities included such matters as theissuance of marriage licenses, the planning of roads, and assessmentof taxes. [2] Colonial Virginia statutes specified that each county should "cause tobe built a courthouse of brick, stone or timber; one common gaol, well-secured with iron bars, bolts and locks, one pillory, whippingpost and stocks. "[3] In addition, the law authorized construction of aducking stool, if deemed necessary, and required establishment of a10-acre tract in which those imprisoned for minor crimes might, ongood behavior, walk for exercise. In addition, buildings werecustomarily provided to house the office of the Clerk of the Court, and to accommodate the justices of the assize and their entourage oflawyers and others who accompanied them as they rode circuit among thecounties of the colony. In England, the "assizes" were sessions of thejustices' courts which met, generally twice a year in each shire, fortrial of questions of fact in both civil and criminal cases. Thecounty courts in colonial Virginia continued to be called assizes formuch of the 18th Century. When events moved toward the partition of Prince William County tocreate the County of Fairfax, the Journal of the Governor in Councilin Williamsburg recorded the following entry: Saturday, June ye 19th, 1742 . . . . ORDERED that the Court-house for Fairfax County be appointed at a place call'd Spring Fields scituated between the New Church and Ox Road in the Branches of Difficult Run, Hunting Creek and Accotinck. [4] Whether this was the first seat of the Fairfax County Court is notpositively known. It is possible that the first sessions of the courtmay have been held at Colchester. Although no records of thetransactions at these sessions have been found, an early history ofthe County cites entries in an early deed book which order the removalof the County Court's records from Colchester to a new courthouse morecentrally located in the county. [5] Be this as it may, the plan to establish a courthouse which wasformalized by the Governor in Council apparently was deliberatelydesigned to accommodate the increasing settlement of areas inland fromthe river plantations--an interest which the Proprietor, Thomas sixthLord Fairfax, shared. "Spring Fields", the site of the court house, was part of a tract of1, 429 acres owned in 1740 by John Colvill, and conveyed by him in thatyear to William Fairfax. [6] In this tract were numerous springsforming the sources of Difficult Run, Accotinck Creek, Wolf Trap Run, Scott's Run and Pimmit Run. It was high ground, comprising part of theplateau area of the northern part of the County, and the site selectedfor the courthouse had a commanding view for many miles around. The location specified in the Council Order was on the New ChurchRoad (later known variously as the Eastern Ridge Road, theAlexandria-Leesburg Road, or the Middle Turnpike) running from theFalls Church to Vestal's Gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains, at a pointwhere this road intersected the Ox Road, running north and west fromthe mouth of the Occoquan River. A map of 1748 also shows roadsrunning from the courthouse west in the direction of Aldie, andsouthwest toward Newgate (now called Centreville). [7] The site wasroughly equidistant for persons coming from Alexandria, Newgate, andthe Goose Creek settlements, but somewhat farther for those fromColchester. The land on which courthouse was built was conveyed to the County bydeed from William Fairfax, dated September 24, 1745, [8] and describedsix acres "where the court house of the said county is to be built anderected, " to be held by the County "during the time the said Courtshall be located there but no longer. " According to a survey made inMarch 1742, the site was a rectangle, 40 poles long by 24 poles wide, described in metes and bounds starting from a post on the west side of"Court House Spring Branch". [9] No other landmarks or monumentscapable of surviving to modern times were mentioned in the deed, andtoday the site of the Springfield Courthouse can be determined asapproximately one-quarter mile south and west of Tyson's Corner. Having in mind the statutory requirements, it is presumed that thecomplex of buildings at Springfield consisted of a courthouse, a jailwith related structures, a clerk's office, and one or more "necessaryhouses" (outhouses), all conveniently located with respect to eachother and the roads. County records show surveys for two ordinaries(inns) located on or adjacent to the courthouse tract. One of these, surveyed in 1746, was a two-acre parcel containing John West'sordinary and related buildings, and the other, also surveyed in 1746, was for one acre within the courthouse tract on which John Colvill wasallowed to build an ordinary. No contemporary descriptions of the courthouse have survived, but itis likely that the buildings were of log construction, on stonefoundations, with brick chimneys. A 16-foot-square addition to thecourthouse was ordered in 1749, with the specification that it have abrick chimney. [10] An item from the Court Order Book, dated December23, 1750, states: On motion of the clerk of the court that papers lying on the table are frequently mixed and confused, and many times thrown down by persons crowding in and throwing their hats and gloves on the said table, the ill consequences thereof being considered, it is ordered that Charles Broadwater, Gent. Agree with some workman to erect a bar around the said clerk's table for the better security of the books and papers. [11] [Illustration: Cartograph of the Market Square and Fairfax CountyCourthouse in Alexandria, as they might have appeared in theeighteenth century. Drawn by Worth Bailey, 1949. ] In 1750, Fairfax County's western border closely approached the edgeof English settlement in Virginia. Settlements in the western part ofthe County were growing far less rapidly than in the centers ofpopulation in the eastern part. Alexandria, established as a town in1749, showed signs of becoming a major seaport, and its merchantscomplained that travel to the courthouse at Springfield wasburdensome, and that service of process and execution of writs waswell-nigh impossible. [12] They actively campaigned for moving thecourthouse to Alexandria, and overcame the opposition of the"up-country" residents by offering to provide a suitable lot and builda new courthouse in Alexandria. Alexandria prevailed in 1752, and the records of the colonial Governorin Council showed the following entries: March 23, 1752. A petition subscribed by many of the principal inhabitants of Fairfax County for removing the court house and prison of that county to the town of Alexandria, which they propose to build by subscription, was this day read, ORDERED that the justices of the said county be acquainted therewith and required to signify their objection against such removal, if they have any, by the 25th of next month, on which day the Board will resume the consideration thereof. And: April 25, 1752. Upon the petition of many of the inhabitants of Fairfax County for removing the court house and prison of the said county by subscription to the town of Alexandria, the Board being satisfy'd that it is generally desired by the people, and on notice given, no objection being made to it, ORDERED that the court house and prison be removed accordingly to the town of Alexandria. [13] By May 1752, the County Court's Minute Book carried the final recordof business transacted at the Spring Fields Courthouse. In Alexandria, the townspeople set aside two lots in the block of theoriginal town survey bounded by Fairfax Street, Cameron Street andKing Street. [14] By ordinance, all buildings in the town had to facethe street and have chimneys of brick or stone, rather than wood, toprevent fires. [15] The building erected as the new courthouse facedFairfax Street, between Cameron and King Streets. A prison was builtbehind the courthouse building in the dedicated lots. The gallows, however, are said to have remained at Spring Fields for some time. [16] Neither the architect nor the builder of the courthouse at Alexandriaare known, although there is evidence that John Carlyle helped withthe building of both the courthouse and market square. [17] In the last half of the eighteenth century, Alexandria prospered asthe principal seaport of the Northern Neck. Its wharves and warehouseswere busy, and its politics were enlivened by the presence of some ofthe colonies' most distinguished residents and visitors. As tobaccogave way to diversified farming, wheat and flour comprised two ofAlexandria's major commodities of trade, and enforcement of the flourinspection and marking laws became an important governmental function. Criminal justice was dispensed publicly in the courthouse and jailyard, furnishing moral lessons for both the culprits and observingcrowds. It was in this jail, too, that tradition has it JeremiahMoore, a dynamic Baptist minister of colonial Virginia, delivered asermon to crowds outside his cell window while he was confined forpreaching without a license. [18] The court records for the years 1752 to 1798 show the names of manyVirginians who were leaders in the War of Independence and thesubsequent establishment of the new state government. Independence didnot significantly affect the judicial system, however, and, except fortheir new allegiance, state and local officials conducted publicbusiness much as they had in the 1760's. During the years of war, however, the courthouse sufferedsubstantially because of lack of maintenance. After the war, repairsfrequently were postponed due to arguments over whether the state orlocality should raise the money for them. Thus, the court records ofthe post-war period show frequent references to the need for repairson the courthouse and jail, [19] most, apparently, without success. There were more serious questions being raised about the future ofthe courthouse in Alexandria's market square. Alexandria no longer wascentral to the County's most important interests. Its port was losingtrade to rivals, principally Baltimore, and the voice of the growingnumbers of settlers in the western part of the county complained thatAlexandria merchants gained at the expense of others by having thecourt meet in their town. George Mason of Gunston Hall felt thatAlexandria politicians were building up too strong a hold on themachinery of County government, and sought the aid of members of theGeneral Assembly to arrange for changing the location of thecourthouse. [20] Finally, in 1798, the Virginia General Assemblydirected that Fairfax County's Court House be relocated to a sitecloser to the center of the County. [21] The search for a suitable site had gone on for almost ten yearspreviously and might not have been concluded even then if its urgencyhad not been sharpened by the passage of Congressional legislationleading to creation of the District of Columbia, and the threat thatAlexandria would fall within the boundaries of the new Federalcapital. Since by law the County Court could not meet outside theboundaries of the County, no further delay could be permitted. Landwas acquired, a new courthouse was built, and the County Court movedinto its new quarters early in 1800. [22] NOTES FOR CHAPTER I [1] Albert O. Porter, _County Government in Virginia_, (New York:Columbia University Press, 1947), p. 13. [2] _A Hornbook of Virginia History_, (Richmond: Virginia StateLibrary, 1965), p. 64. [3] Virginia, Laws, 1748, c. 7, revising earlier statutes on courtsenacted in 1662 and 1679. [4] Wilmer Hall (Ed. ), _Executive Journals of the Council of ColonialVirginia_, (Richmond: Virginia State Library, 1945), V. 93. [5] _Industrial and Historical Sketch of Fairfax County_, (Fairfax:County Board of County Supervisors, 1907), p. 45. [6] Northern Neck Grants Book, Liber E, p. 182. William Fairfax was acousin of the Proprietor, and acted as his agent. [7] The so-called Truro Parish Partition Map, purporting to lay outboundaries for a division of Truro Parish to create a new parish forthe western settlements. See _Virginia Magazine of History andBiography_, XXXVI, 180. [8] Fairfax County Deed Book, Liber A, No. 2, p. 494. [9] Fairfax County Deed Book, Liber A, Pt. 1, p. 52, Survey, March 17, 1742. [10] E. Sprouse (ed), Fairfax County Abstracts: Court Order Books, 1749-1792, citing Order Book, 1749-54, December 26, 1749, p. 49. [11] _Ibid. _, p. 131. Charles Broadwater was one of the justices. [12] There was some reason to support this, apparently, for in 1748the General Assembly reduced the number of court meetings to four peryear for these reasons. See Virginia, Laws, 1742, c. 32; Laws, 1748, c. 59; Laws, 1752, c. 7. [13] _Virginia Gazette_, reprinted in _William & Mary Quarterly_, XII, 215. [14] Cited in Mary G. Powell, _The History of Old Alexandria, Virginiafrom July 13, 1749 to May 24, 1861_, (Richmond: William Byrd Press, 1928), p. 35. [15] _Ibid. _, p. 22. [16] Jeanne Rust, _History of the Town of Fairfax_, (Washington: Moore& Moore, 1960), p. 30. [17] Gay M. Moore, _Seaport on the Potomac_, (Richmond: Garrett &Massie, 1949), p. 12. [18] William C. Moore, "Jeremiah Moore: 1746-1815, " _William & MaryQuarterly_, 2d ser. , XIII, 18, 21. Tradition also holds that JeremiahMoore was defended by Patrick Henry, but this has not been verified. [19] Robert Anderson, "The Administration of Justice in the Countiesof Fairfax, and Alexandria and the City of Alexandria", _ArlingtonHistorical Magazine_, II, No. 1 (October 1961), 19-21. [20] "Letters of George Mason to Zachariah Johnston", _Tyler'sQuarterly Review_, V (January 1924), 189. [21] Virginia, Laws, 1797-98, c. 37; Shepherd, _Statutes at Large_, II, 107. [22] During the 1780's the court was compelled to leave the originalcourthouse building for temporary quarters. Harrison, _Landmarks_, p. 343, states that during this period the County Court met in theAlexandria Town House, located next door, which also housed theHustings Court. He also states that the Clerk of the County Court setup his offices in a nearby school building. The _Alexandria Gazette_, November 13, 1878, reported the demolition of an old house on thesouth side of Duke Street, east of St. Asaph's Street, which it statedhad served as the office of the Clerk of Alexandria's Hustings Courtand the Fairfax County Court commencing in the spring of 1793. CHAPTER II THE PROVIDENCE COURTHOUSE AND ITS RELATED BUILDINGS: 1800-1860 _Location and Construction_ The resolution of the General Assembly ordering relocation of thecourthouse was not specific as to the site on which it would be built. Accordingly, in May 1790, the court appointed a commission to inspecta site near Ravensworth, within a mile of the crossroads at Price'sOrdinary, and to negotiate for purchase of a two-acre parcel. [23] Thecommissioners' report was not favorable to the site, however, andnegotiations for other land continued until, in May 1798, a group ofcommissioners was appointed to inspect a site at Earp's Corner(between a road which later became the Little River Turnpike and theOx Road), owned by Richard Ratcliffe. [24] The commissioners reportedfavorably, and Ratcliffe was persuaded to sell four acres to theCounty for one dollar. A sale was made, and the deed recorded on June27, 1799. [25] Work had begun on the new courthouse some six months earlier, asindicated by the following notice appearing in the _Columbia Mirrorand Alexandria Advertiser_: The Fairfax Court House Commissioners have fixed on Thursday the 28th instant for letting out the erection of the necessary Public Buildings to the lowest bidder. As they have adopted the plan of Mr. Wren, those workmen who mean to attend may have sight of the plan. Charles Little David Stuart William Payne James Wren Charles Minor[26] The successful bidders at this event were John Bogue, a carpenter andbuilder newly arrived in the United States, and his partner, MungoDykes. They completed the construction of the courthouse late in 1799, and on January 27, 1800, the Commissioners reported to the CountyCourt that they had received the "necessary buildings for the holdingof the Court", and found them "executed agreeably to thecontract". [27] Within the four-acre courthouse tract, a half-acre was laid off toprovide space to build an office for the Clerk of the Court. [28] Thisoriginal tract did not provide enough ground for the jail yard andother grounds comprising the courthouse compound. [29] Accordingly, inMarch 1800 the Court ordered William Payne to prepare a new survey ofthe compound, enlarged to accommodate all of the facilities requiredby the law. The area of this new survey was ten acres, capable ofaccommodating courthouse, jail, clerk's office, gallows and pillory, astable, a storehouse and possibly an ordinary. [30] The equipping of the courthouse and transfer of the court's recordswere accomplished by March 1800, so that the _Columbia Mirror andAlexandria Advertiser_ was able to carry a notice its March 29thedition that The County Court of Fairfax is adjourned from the town of Alexandria to the New Court House, in the Center of the County, where suitors and others who have business are hereby notified to attend on the 3d Monday in April next. Thus, the first recorded meeting of the court in the new courthousewas on April 21, 1800. [31] Meanwhile, in Alexandria, the Mayor andCouncil adopted a resolution giving to Peter Wagener the title to thebricks of the old courthouse on Alexandria's market square asindemnity for pulling it down. [32] _Fairfax Courthouse and the Town of Providence_ The central location of the new courthouse and the improvement of itsaccessibility through the construction of several turnpike roadscommencing in the early 1800's, led naturally to the growth of acommunity around the courthouse. In the vicinity of the crossroads afew buildings antedated the courthouse. Earp's store, probably builtin the late 1700's, was one such building, as were dwelling housesreputedly built by the Moss family and Thomas Love. [33] Development of more nearby land was not long delayed. In 1805 theGeneral Assembly authorized establishment of a new town at Earp'sstore, to be named Providence. [34] The future growth of the town wasforecast in a plat laying off a rectangular parcel of land adjacent tothe Little River Turnpike into nineteen lots for building. [35] Settlement during the next few decades was relatively slow. RizenWillcoxen built a brick tavern across the turnpike from thecourthouse. [36] A variety of "mechanics" and merchants opened theirworkshops and stores to serve the local residents and travellers onthe turnpike, and, on the north side of the turnpike, a store wasestablished by a man named Gerard Boiling. [37] Also, a school forgirls occupied land across the turnpike from the present TruroEpiscopal Church, and, east of the courthouse crossroads, a Frenchmannamed D'Astre built a distillery and winery and developed avineyard. [38] Martin's 1835 _Gazetteer of Virginia and the District of Columbia_described Fairfax Court House Post Office as follows: "In addition tothe ordinary county buildings, some 50 dwelling houses (for the mostpart frame buildings), 3 mercantile stores, 4 taverns, and oneschool. "[39] The "mechanics" located in the town included boot andshoe makers, saddlers, blacksmiths and tailors. The town's populationtotalled 200, of which four attorneys and two physicians comprised theprofessions. Somewhat later, the town's industry was augmented byestablishment of the Cooper Carriage Works on the turnpike west of thecourthouse. [40] This growth of services around the seat of the county government wasan added inducement for the County's residents to gather in town whencourt was in session, to trade, transact their business at thecourthouse, and exchange the news of the day. By the 1830's theschedule of court days had expanded to include sessions of the CountyCourt (3d Monday each month), the Quarter Sessions (in March, June, August and November), and the Circuit Superior Court (25th of May andOctober). [41] At these times the court would sit for several days--as long asnecessary--to complete the County's business. A quorum of the totalpanel of appointed justices was necessary to conduct the court, butthis number generally was small enough so that no hardship wassuffered by those who had to leave their private concerns. In everythird month, the meetings of the court would also be the occasion forconvening the successor to the colonial courts of the QuarterSessions, at which criminal charges not involving capital punishmentwere tried. Throughout the first half of the nineteenth century, the sessions ofthe County Court continued to be the chief feature of life in the townof Providence, or Fairfax Court House, as it frequently was called. When the court was not in session, the regular passage of carriages, wagons, and herds along the Little River Turnpike was the main form ofcontact which residents had with areas outside the locality. Thissituation continued even after the coming of the railroads, for whenthe Orange & Alexandria Railroad was chartered in 1848, its route waslaid out several miles south of Providence. Thus, the nearest railstations for the courthouse community were at Fairfax Station, on theOrange & Alexandria Railroad, and at Manassas, where the Manassas GapRailroad left the Orange & Alexandria and ran to Harrisonburg. [42] [Illustration: Four acres of Richard Ratcliffe's land near CalebEarp's Store laid off for the courthouse and other public buildings. Record of Surveys, Section 2, p. 79, 1798. ] [Illustration: Ten acres of land surrounding the courthouse laid offfor the prison bounds. Record of Surveys, Section 2, p. 93, 1800. ] [Illustration: Ten acres of land surrounding the courthouse intendedfor the prison bounds. Fairfax County Deed Book V-2, p. 208, 1824. ] [Illustration: One-half acre, part of the four-acre courthouse lot, laid off for the Clerk of the County and his successors. Record ofSurveys, Section 2, p. 115, 1799. ] NOTES FOR CHAPTER II [23] Fairfax County Court Order Book, 1789-1791, p. 93. [24] _Ibid. _, pp. 189-191. [25] Fairfax County Deed Book B-2, pp. 373-377. [26] _Columbia Mirror & Alexandria Advertiser_, June 19, 1798. JohnBogue had arrived in the United States with his family in 1795. OnJune 20, 1795, the _Alexandria Gazette_ published his signed statementthanking the captain of the ship "Two Sisters" for a good voyage. Inthe August 1, 1795 issue of the _Gazette_, he advertised as a joinerand cabinet maker on Princess Street near Hepburn's Wharf, "hoping tosucceed as his abilities shall preserve him deserving. " [27] Fairfax County Deed Book, B-2, p. 503. [28] Fairfax County Record of Surveys, 1742-1850, p. 115. [29] Fairfax County Deed Book, B-2, p. 503. [30] Interview with former Clerk of Courts, Thomas Chapman of Fairfax, Virginia, February 13, 1970. [31] One of the items to come before the court at this sessioninvolved winding up the county's contract with John Bogue and MungoDykes. The Court's Clerk, Robert Moss, was summoned to appear and showcause why he had not paid the contractors in conformance with thecommissioners' report accepting the buildings. Moss produced a receiptfor this payment, signed by Mr. Bogue's agent, who apparently had notpassed it along to his principal. Fairfax County Court Order Book, 1799-1800, p. 509. [32] Powell, _Old Alexandria_, p. 38. [33] Elizabeth Burke, "Our Heritage: A History of Fairfax County", _Yearbook of the Historical Society of Fairfax County_, 1956-7, 5:4. [34] _Ibid. _, 32. [35] Fairfax County Deed Book, M-2, p. 56. [36] Rust, _Town of Fairfax_, p. 3. [37] Gerard Bolling was the father-in-law of Richard Ratcliffe who hadprovided the four-acre tract on which the courthouse had been built. Rust, _Fairfax_, p. 31. [38] _Ibid. _ [39] Joseph Martin, _Gazetteer of Virginia and the District ofColumbia_, (Charlottesville, 1835), p. 168. The name "Providence"apparently was less favored than the traditional Virginia style ofreferring to the seat of county government. [40] Rust, _Fairfax_, p. 37. [41] Martin, _Gazetteer_, pp. 168-169. [42] Marshall Andrews, "A History of Railroads in Fairfax County", _Yearbook of the Historical Society of Fairfax County_, III (1954), 30-31. CHAPTER III THE COUNTY COURT AND ITS OFFICERS _The functions and officers of the colonial court_ In colonial Virginia local government was centered in the CountyCourt. Its origins as a political and social institution have beenattributed to various prototypes in Tudor and earlier English history. By the time Fairfax County was established in 1742, this institutionand its functions in colonial Virginia had been clearly formulated andaccepted. [43] The County Court evolved from the colony's original court establishedat Jamestown and consisting of the Governor and Council sitting as ajudicial tribunal. In 1618, the Governor ordered courts to be heldmonthly at convenient places throughout the colony to save litigantsthe expense of traveling to Jamestown. Steadily the numbers of thesecourts increased and their jurisdiction expanded until, by the end ofthe seventeenth century, these local courts could hear all casesexcept those for which capital punishment was provided. In effect, their jurisdiction combined the contemporary English government'sKing's Bench, Common Pleas, Chancery, Exchequer, Admiralty, andEcclesiastical courts. During this period the local courts acquired numerous non-judicialresponsibilities connected with the transaction of public and privateaffairs. Because of both tradition and convenience, the County Courtwas the logical agency to set tax rates, oversee the survey of roadsand construction of bridges, approve inventories and appraisals ofestates, record the conveyance of land, and the like. Therefore, thecourt's work reflected a mixture of judicial and administrativefunctions, and the officers of the court became the chief magistratesof the Crown and of their communities. Once this pattern of authorityand organization was developed, it continued with very few basicchanges throughout the eighteenth and most of the nineteenthcenturies. Highest in the hierarchy of the officers of the county and the courtwere the justices. Originally designated as "commissioners", and, bythe 1850's referred to as "magistrates", their full title was "Justiceof the Peace" after their English counterparts of this period. [44]Popular usage in Virginia, however, fostered the custom of speaking ofthe members of the court as "Gentleman Justices". They were both theproducts and caretakers of a system that placed control of publicaffairs in the hands of an aristocratic class, and at any time in theCounty's history up to mid-nineteenth century a list of the County'sjustices was certain to include the best leadership the County had. Appointments were for life, and lacked any provision for compensation. Service on the court was, therefore, considered an honorableobligation of those whose position and means permitted them to performit. That this was considered a serious and active responsibility wasindicated by the fact that justices could be fined for non-attendanceat court. [45] Through the colonial period and well after the War ofIndependence the justices of the county court were appointed by thegovernor, and, although episodes during this period indicated therecurrence of friction between the governor and General Assembly overthe power to make these appointments, neither the local court nor theAssembly was able to assert permanently its claim to participate inthe appointment process. [46] The number of justices of the countycourt varied considerably in different counties and times. By law thenumber was set at eight members; yet in 1769 Fairfax County had 17justices, and appeared to be typical of other counties in theregion. [47] Appointments to the county court in some instances seemed almosthereditary, for when a justice of one of the prominent local familiesdied or retired to attend to other interests it frequently occurredthat his place was taken by a younger relative. Historian CharlesSydnor has noted that during the twenty years prior to the War ofIndependence three-fourths of the 1600 justices of the peace appointedin Virginia came from three hundred to four hundred families. [48] Directly or indirectly, the justices of the county court influencedthe selection of all other county officers. The clerk of the court waselected outright, but others--including the sheriff, coroner, inspectors and commissioners for special duties, and militia officersbelow the rank of brigadier--were commissioned by the governor fromlists submitted by the justices. The office of clerk of the county court presumably dates from theorigin of the court itself, for references to clerk's fees are foundin the law as early as 1621, [49] and authority for appointment by thegovernor is noted in 1642. [50] From the tables of fees authorized bylaw, one may see that the clerk performed a wide range of functionsgrowing out of the work of the court. These included issuing ordersfor all stages of court proceedings, taking depositions andinventories, recording documents, and administering or probatingestates of all kinds. In addition, the county's records of births, deaths and marriages were maintained from reports made to the clerk. In time, some of the tasks of issuing certificates--such as marriagelicenses--which started as duties of the court were turned over to theclerk to perform. [51] Frequently the clerk could and did exercise great influence with thejustices in the handling of legal matters. As the members of the courtwere laymen, it often occurred that the clerk was the only person whowas learned in the law, and his advice must have been a determiningfactor in many situations. His tenure in office also strengthened hisposition of influence, for it was customary to retain clerks in officefor long periods of time, during which they had daily contact with theworkings of the law and events in the county. Unlike the justices, whocame from all parts of the county and seldom were present except oncourt days, the clerk was much more available at the courthouse, andso generally was the first to hear news from the colonial capital orthe outside world. As a result, the clerks of the court were consultedon a variety of matters whenever a justice was not available. Fees charged for performing the various services connected with thework of the court made up the income of the clerk, and occasionallythe same person might hold the positions of clerk and surveyor, notary, or special commissioner. Under certain circumstances, clerksalso could practice law, and all of these sources combined to producean income which was for the times comfortable. In the eighteenth century, two significant changes in the lawprescribing the clerk's office occurred--it was made a salariedposition, and the county court was given full authority to appoint theclerk--but in other respects the office was changed very little eitherby the passage of time or the transformation from colony tocommonwealth. Ranking roughly equal to the clerk in importance to the operations ofcounty government was the sheriff. The office of sheriff appeared whencounties began to be established in the 1630's; and until after theWar of Independence, sheriffs were appointed by the governor onrecommendation of the county court. Almost from the beginning, too, it appears to have been customary to appoint deputies or"under-sheriffs". So it is not surprising to find that after 1661 itwas customary for the office of the sheriff to rotate annually amongthe members of the court who, in turn, appointed their deputiesdirectly. But in the eighteenth century this system proved toodisruptive, and deputies were retained throughout several terms ofsheriff's appointments. [52] From the beginning the sheriff and his deputies were compensated byfees which they collected for a wide variety of duties. These rangedfrom tasks connected with execution of the court's orders in criminalcases, to enforcement of the law and administration of the jail. Inaddition, the sheriff was due a fee from a master whose runawayservant or employee he apprehended and returned, or for collectingprivate debts or administering corporal punishment to servants fortheir owners. [53] Sheriffs also collected the levies which financed county government. However, being subject to the pressures of their own circumstances, there often was a tendency to give first priority to activities whichbrought in their own fees. This led the General Assembly to requirethat sheriffs collect public levies before they take any fees forthemselves, and to prescribe a number of other rules for improvementof the conduct of their offices. [55] The role of the sheriff in the tax collection process always was adifficult one. The procedure for financing the county, initially, wasfor the justices simply to compile lists of their expenses and thefreeholders of the county, compute how much was needed from eachfreeholder to cover the cost of government, and direct the sheriff tocollect it. When the sheriff made his return to the court he wasentitled to deduct a percentage as his commission. [56] However, revenue was often not collected, either because the job was farmed outto others who defaulted, or the county was too poor, or its residentswere scattered and could not be found. [57] These problems ultimatelyled the General Assembly to establish other officers whose exclusiveduties were the levying and collecting of revenue, but throughout theseventeenth and eighteenth centuries the sheriff performed a centralrole in the revenue process. The sheriff was also the custodian of the county jail and itsprisoners. He had the authority to decide on and collect bail, and hewas liable for a fine if a prisoner escaped. He appears generally tohave taken his responsibility for the county jail lightly, for thereis evidence of widespread contracting for others to provide the guardfor the jail and the food for the prisoners. Other officials who werepart of the colonial county government performed specializedfunctions, but unlike the clerk and sheriff, took no part in thegeneral administration of county business. The office of county surveyor was created early in the seventeenthcentury to meet the obvious need for accurate measurement andrecording of land. Initially, the surveyor was appointed by the countycourt, and sometimes treated as an additional duty of the clerk orsheriff. However, by the end of the eighteenth century a significantchange had occurred in the legislation which called for appointment bythe governor after a candidate had been examined and approved by thefaculty of the College of William & Mary. By 1783, therefore, thesurveyor became the first county official to be required to showprofessional competence as a condition of appointment. [58] The office of constable appeared in 1645, and may be described assimilar to that of sheriff, except that it served the court of asingle justice. [59] Constables were appointed by the justices of thecounty court and served in precincts delineated by the justices. The function of coroner in colonial Virginia was similar in allessential respects to that in England at that time, that is, torepresent the Crown by investigating the circumstances of unexplaineddeaths. Originally, this function was performed by the justices, acting without fee. However, by the 1670's, coroners were beingappointed by the governor, and authorized to collect fees for theirservices from the estate of the deceased or, lacking that, from thecounty. In the absence of the sheriff, the coroner could be designatedby the court to perform the duties of the sheriff's office. [60] Roughly a century after the appearance of the coroner, the nextsignificant addition to the machinery of county government came withthe creation of the commissioners of the tax. Forced by the increasedmilitary expenses of the 1760's and 1770's[61] to find new sources ofrevenue, Virginia created an official to take over the specializedfunction of assessment of property for tax purposes. He was elected bythe freeholders of the county. In office, his task became one oflaying off the county into districts, assessing property, andnotifying the owner of the tax due. The commissioners of the tax were created in 1777, and lasted until1782 when a new official, the commissioner of the revenue wasestablished. [62] The new commissioner took responsibility for makingassessments of taxable property under a simplified procedure, and theoffice has remained as a unique feature of Virginia's local governmentto the present time. _Court Days_ As the institution of the county court grew during the seventeenth andeighteenth centuries and became the hub of county government, themonthly sessions of the court furnished an opportunity for generalgatherings of the county's residents and visitors to transact bothpublic and personal business. A scene that must have been typical ofalmost any Virginia county in the early nineteenth century has beendescribed by historian John Wayland as follows: Court day once a month was looked upon as a great event; everyone that could leave home was at hand. It was a day of great interest; farmers coming in with their produce, such as butter and eggs, and other articles which they exchanged for groceries and dry goods. The streets around the courthouse were thronged with all sorts of men; others, on horseback, riding up and down trying to sell their horses. Men in home made clothes, old rusty hats that had seen several generations, coarse shoes and no stockings, some without coat or vest, with only shirt and pants. . . . This was a day to settle old grudges. When a man got too much whiskey he was very quarrelsome and wanted to fight. . . . It was, also, a great day for the gingerbread and molasses beer. The cake sellers had [tables] in front of the courthouse, spread with white cloths, with cakes piled high upon them and with kegs of beer nearby. I have seen the jurymen let down hats from the windows above, get them filled with gingerbread and a jug of beer sent up by rope. About four or five o'clock the crowd began to start for home. [63] For anyone who had business with the court, whether he or she came asa petitioner or a penitent, the justices, clerk, sheriff, and otherofficials represented the presence of power and authority as colonialVirginia knew it. But it was a presence in which men stood on littleceremony or formality with each other. Except in unusual circumstancesall were likely to be laymen, for in colonial Virginia there waslittle formal education in the professions and, at most, one mighthave attended lectures at the College of William & Mary or a school inEngland. If the gentlemen justices were widely read in history, philosophy, government and literature--as well they might be--theseadvantages of their means and leisure did not destroy theirappreciation for the issues they were asked to decide. For in theirown right they were planters who had to face and deal with theseissues in their own lives. Accordingly, their decisions, as reflectedin the minutes of their sessions, were based on this realism whichcomes from personal experience. Yet it remained true that the gentlemen justices of the county courtwere, for most practical purposes, beyond any control of the communitythey governed. Any complaint about the manner in which the justicesconducted their business could only be directed to the governor. [64]Should the court cease to function for long periods of time because ofquarreling among the justices, or should the occurrence of anemergency require replacement of justices, the freeholders of thecounty had no method of dealing with their problem except through thepressure of public opinion. [65] Even with the best of good will among the members of the court, theycould not escape the usual difficulties of handling legal mattersbefore a bench of lay judges, who not only lacked professionaltraining, but were handicapped by the scarcity and cost of lawbooks. [66] Decisions which seemed wrong could, from earliest colonialtimes, be appealed to the governor and General Court. Later theestablishment of District Courts, and their successors the CircuitCourts, provided an intermediate tribunal for determining matterswhich turned on points of law. But the business of the gentlemenjustices on court days was a mix of legal and administrative matters, and in the latter area of activity there was no appeal. _Election Days_ Among the non-judicial activities carried on at the courthouse, nonewas as colorful and few were more important than elections of membersof the House of Burgesses. Elections were ordered by writs issued bythe governor, and in each county they were conducted by the sheriff. Unless reasons of the greatest gravity prevented it, the polling placewas the county courthouse. [67] Voting, or "taking the poll" as it was called, was conducted in thecourt chambers, or, in warm weather, in the courthouse yard, with thesheriff presiding at a long table. On either side of the sheriff werejustices of the court, and at the ends of the table were thecandidates and their tally clerks. The sheriff opened the election by reading the governor's writ andproclaiming the polls open. If there was no contest or a clearlyone-sided election, the sheriff might take the vote "on view"--thatis, by a show of hands of those assembled at the courthouse. Generally, however, a poll of the individual voters was taken. As thepolling went on, each freeholder came before the sheriff when his namewas called and was asked by the sheriff how he voted. As he answered, the tally clerk for the candidate receiving the vote enrolled it andthe candidate, in his turn, generally acknowledged the vote with a bowand expression of appreciation. At the close of the polling acomparison of the tally sheets showed the winner. This method of voting enhanced the excitement of a close election, and, since elections frequently were held on court days when manypeople came to the courthouse on other business, activity outside thecourthouse sometimes was spirited. Wagers were offered and taken, arguments broke out and fights sometimes followed. [68] Those attending the elections usually were in good spirits, for theywere aided by the custom of the candidates to provide cider, rumpunch, ginger cakes, and, generally, a barbecued bullock or pigs forpicnic-style refreshment of the voters waiting at the courthouse. [69]The candidates and their friends also kept open house for voterstraveling to the courthouse on election day, offering bed andbreakfast to as many as came. On election night, the winningcandidates customarily provided supper and a ball for their friendsand other celebrants. [70] The law was explicit that no one shoulddirectly or indirectly give "money, meat, drink, present, gift, rewardor entertainment . . . In order to be elected, or for being elected toserve in the General Assembly", [71] but the practice of treating thevoters on election day was deeply rooted in Virginia's politicaltradition. Thus the law was interpreted as only prohibiting oneoffering refreshment "in order to get elected"--something extremelydifficult to prove--but not preventing one from treating his friends. So, while occasionally voices were heard to condemn candidates for"swilling the planters with bumbo", [72] or bemoan the "corruptinginfluence of spiritous liquors, and other treats . . . Inconsistent withthe purity of moral and republican principles", the complainantsalmost always turned out to be candidates who themselves had recentlybeen rejected at the polls. [73] _The Transition From Colony to Commonwealth_ The War of Independence caused little change in Virginia's system ofcounty government. The county court system was carried over into thestate constitution of 1776 with only the oath of office changed tocall for support and defense of the constitution and government of theCommonwealth of Virginia. [74] The General Assembly became thesuccessor to most of the functions of the colonial House of Burgessesand Governor in Council, but significantly the principle of theseparation of powers established for the commonwealth was not extendedto the counties. Thus, the mix of powers, privileges and duties whichcomprised the authority of the gentlemen justices in colonial timeswas continued, as was the custom of appointment for life. How little the transition from colony to commonwealth changed thejustices' own view of their position was illustrated in 1785 when thenew governor issued new commissions reappointing the justices ofFairfax County's court. The justices refused to accept the newcommissions, and pointed out to the governor in a long letter thatthis duplication of oaths would set a bad precedent and risk givingthe executive undue powers over the court. Far from being anartificial objection, the letter noted, this latter point wasextremely touchy for the justices' standing in a great many matterswas based on seniority, and both the prestige and chances forfinancial rewards that went with the office depended on thisstanding. [75] The most noteworthy changes in the organization of local functionscame as a result of the disestablishment of the Church of England. That portion of all local officials' oaths which called for supportingand defending the church was dropped, but, more important, abolitionof the parish vestry made it necessary to lodge its non-religiousfunctions elsewhere. In 1780, therefore, the General Assembly createdcounty boards of Overseers of the Poor. [76] Most other welfareactivities were added to the responsibilities of the county court. [77] While the basic philosophy of Virginians regarding their localgovernment did not change as a result of independence, certain newgovernmental institutions were created because colonial ways were notefficient enough to meet the demands placed on them by social andeconomic growth. Although the general jurisdiction of the county courtwas continued, in 1788 a new court, called the district court, wasestablished to relieve the pressure of judicial business. [78] Thesedistrict courts were the direct antecedents of the present circuitcourts of the counties which were created by the General Assembly in1818. [79] If the district court did not displace the county court immediately, it forecast its eventual decline as a judicial tribunal. The new courtintroduced the beginnings of professionalism on the bench, and offeredthe prospect of full-time attention to the administration of justiceby trained judges. Establishment of the office of the CommonwealthAttorney in 1788 added to this trend toward professionalism. [80] Most of the administrative duties of the county court in colonialtimes remained after independence. Consequently, the records of thecounty court continued to show actions connected with the licensing ofinns, ordinaries, mills, ferries, peddlers, and other similaractivities, along with attention to the survey and maintenance ofroads, bridges, and fords. [81] Regulatory powers over the practices oftradesmen and artisans was broad, and used by the county court to setrates which could be charged and to prescribe trade practices whichaffected the quality of the products involved. In this area of activity, the county court was performing whatVirginians generally regarded as matters of purely local concern. Except in connection with the production of tobacco and milling andshipping of grain, economic activities seldom affected anyone beyondthe county neighborhood. [82] Therefore, the county court was deemed tobe the best body to understand and accommodate the interests involved. This attitude began to change only as the improvement oftransportation facilities increased travel and commerce in the periodfrom 1830 to 1860. NOTES FOR CHAPTER III [43] See generally, Martha Hiden, _How Justice Grew: VirginiaCounties: An Abstract of Their Formation_, (Williamsburg: Virginia350th Anniversary Celebration, 1957). Also, because time-honoredtradition as well as law influenced the organization of Virginiacounties, the description of English local government in J. B. Black, _The Reign of Elizabeth, 1558-1603_, (Oxford: Oxford University, 1936), pp. 174-177, applies to Virginia's county government in thecolonial and early federal periods. [44] The first statute on this subject, in 1628, used the term"commissioners" (I Hening, _Statutes_, 133). In 1662, this term wasreplaced by "justices". P. A. Bruce, _Institutional History ofVirginia in the Seventeenth Century_, (New York: Putnam, 1910), I, 488. However, Porter, _County Government_, p. 170, states that"justice of the peace" was the full title during most of theseventeenth and eighteenth centuries. [45] Porter, _County Government_, p. 168. [46] In 1657, for example, the House of Burgesses enacted legislationrequiring that appointments be recommended by the county court andapproved by the Assembly. (I Hening, _Statutes_, 402, 480) But thisrequirement appears to have been repealed after the restoration ofCharles II. [47] Porter, _County Government_, p. 49, cites the _Calendar of StatePapers_, I, 261, listing the numbers of justices in nearby counties asfollows: Fauquier, 18; Prince William, 18; Loudoun, 17. [48] Charles Sydnor, _American Revolutionaries In The Making_, (NewYork: Collier, 1962), p. 64. [49] Hening, _Statutes_, I, 117. [50] Hening, _Statutes_, I, 305. [51] Hening, _Statutes_, II, 28, 280. [52] Porter, _County Government_, p. 42. [53] _Ibid. _, pp. 27-28. [54] Hening, _Statutes_, I, 330, 484. [55] These rules included prohibitions against extortion of excessivefees, acting as lawyers in their own courts, falsifying revenuereturns, multiple job-holding and the like. See Hening, _Statutes_, I, 265, 297, 330, 333, 465, 523; II, 163, 291. Porter, _CountyGovernment_, 68, comments that "the office of sheriff, judging fromthe number of acts which the assembly found it necessary to pass, wasthe problem child of . . . [the 18th century], not only in regard to theduties of the office, but also in the method of appointment. " [56] Shepherd, _Laws of Virginia_, I, 367. [57] _Calendar of State Papers_, IV, 416. [58] Hening, _Statutes_, XI, 352. [59] Hening, _Statutes_, IV, 350. [60] Hening, _Statutes_, II, 419; IV, 350. [61] Hening, _Statutes_, IX, 351. [62] Hening, _Statutes_, XII, 243. [63] John Wayland, _History of Rockingham County, Virginia_, (Dayton, Virginia: Ruebush-Elkins, 1912), pp. 424-425. [64] Porter, _County Government_, p. 109, citing _Calendar of StatePapers_, IV, 170. [65] Sydnor, _American Revolutionaries_, pp. 77-78. [66] As a result law books were the property of the court rather thanthe individual justices, and on the death or resignation of a justicehis law books were surrendered to the court and divided among theremaining members of the court. Hening, _Statutes_, IV, 437. [67] In unusual circumstances, such as an outbreak of smallpox, thesheriff might chose an alternate site. H. R. McIlwaine (ed), _Journalsof the House of Burgesses, 1742-49_, (Richmond, 1909), p. 292. [68] Douglas S. Freeman, _George Washington: A Biography: YoungWashington_, (New York: Scribner, 1948), II, 146, notes thatWashington became involved in an election-day brawl at the election ofmembers of the House of Burgesses in December 1755. The contestbetween John West, George William Fairfax, and William Ellzey was veryclose, and Washington (supporting Fairfax) met William Payne (whoopposed Fairfax). Angry words led to blows, and Payne knockedWashington down with a stick. There was talk of a duel, but the nextday Washington apologized for what he had said, and friendly relationswere restored. [69] Sydnor, _American Revolutionaries_, p. 53. [70] Nicholas Cresswell, _The Journals of Nicholas Cresswell, 1774-1777_, (Pt. Washington, N. Y. : Kennikat Press, 1968), pp. 27-28. [71] Hening, _Statutes_, III, 243. [72] "Bumbo" was an eighteenth century slang term for rum. Sydnor, _American Revolutionaries_, p. 53. [73] William C. Rives, _History of the Life and Times of JamesMadison_, (Boston: Little, Brown, 1873), I, 180-81. [74] Porter, _County Government_, p. 107. [75] Calendar of State Papers, IV, 337. [76] Hening, _Statutes_, X, 198; XI, 432; XII, 273, 573; Shepherd, _Laws_, I, 114. [77] Hening, _Statutes_, X, 385 (orphans); XII, 199 (mental health). [78] The district court's jurisdiction included civil cases of a valueof £30 or 2, 000 lbs of tobacco, all criminal cases, and appeals fromthe county court in criminal cases. Hening, _Statutes_, XII, 730 etseq. [79] Virginia, _Code of 1819_, I, 226. [80] Hening, _Statutes_, XIII, 758. [81] Hening, _Statutes_, XII, 174. [82] In the late eighteenth century, Virginia millers and warehousemenwere major sources of grain and flour for New England, the West Indiesand Mediterranean. The House of Burgesses, and later the GeneralAssembly, enacted comprehensive laws regulating the quality, gradingand marking of these products. See, Lloyd Payne, _The Miller inEighteenth Century Virginia_, (Williamsburg: Colonial Williamsburg, 1963) and Charles Kuhlman, _The Development of the Flour-MillingIndustry in the United States_, (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1929), pp. 27-33, 47-54. [Illustration: Fairfax County Courthouse, June 1863. Photo by T. H. O'Sullivan. Copy from the Library of Congress. ] CHAPTER IV THE WAR YEARS: 1861-1865 As events in the winter of 1860 and the spring of 1861 carried thenation into the crisis of civil war, Fairfax County aligned itselfwith Richmond rather than Washington. Thus, at the State's conventionon secession in May 1861, the Fairfax County delegation voted toratify the secession ordinance. [83] The consequences of this actionwere prompt in coming and far-reaching in their effects, for with thecommencement of military operations in Northern Virginia it becameimpossible to carry on the normal processes of county government. Fairfax Court House (the Town of Providence) was outside the ring offortifications which were built on the Virginia side of the Potomac toprotect the National Capital. Inside this line, stretching in a greatarc from Alexandria, through the vicinity of The Falls Church, toChain Bridge, Union Army commanders exercised military authority andadministered justice through provost courts. [84] Outside this area theauthority of the General Assembly of Virginia nominally remained ineffect, and the justices of the courts and the sheriffs of the countycontinued to hold their positions under the laws of the seceded state. Serious difficulties in the transaction of public business soonappeared throughout Fairfax County, where patrolling and skirmishingoutside the ring of permanent fortified positions were dailyoccurrences. This was recognized in an ordinance adopted by theSecession Convention providing that when the court of any countyfailed to meet for the transaction of business or the public wasprevented from attending the court "by reason of the public enemy", the court of the adjoining county where such obstructions did notexist had jurisdiction of all matters referrable to the court or theclerk of the court where normal business had ceased. [85] As Virginia armed, troops of the Confederacy placed themselves inpositions to repel invaders, and in May 1861, a company of theWarrenton Rifles established a camp at Fairfax Court House. On themorning of June 1, 1861, a body of Union cavalry rode through thetown, and in the confused exchange of fire which followed, a Captainof the Rifles, John Quincy Marr, became the first officer casualty ofthe war. [86] A month later, the tide of Union forces under McDowell swept past thecourthouse on the way to its rendezvous at Bull Run, and back again tothe safety of the fortified positions along the Potomac. In the wakeof their victory at Bull Run, troops of the Confederacy established anoutpost at Fairfax Court House to watch for signs that the Union Armymight resume the offensive by moving against the Confederateearthworks near Centreville. This outpost did not see any fighting for the time being, but itprovided the site for what later was regarded as one of the decisivemoments of the war. In September 1861, General Beauregard hadestablished his headquarters at Fairfax Court House, and urgentlypressed the newly-formed government of Confederate President JeffersonDavis for reinforcements with which to sweep into Pennsylvania andMaryland and, hopefully, to carry the Federal capital itself. Ameeting was arranged at Beauregard's headquarters in which Davis, Generals Beauregard and J. J. Johnston, and certain of their trustedstaff officers considered this plan. Their decision was to adopt adefensive posture and protect the borders of Virginia rather than takethe offensive and invade the North. As events turned out, thisdecision had consequences of the greatest effect, for it was not untilLee marched out of the Valley on the road to Gettysburg in 1863 thatthere was another opportunity for the Confederacy to carry the war tothe soil of the northern states. [87] In the spring of 1862, the Confederate army retired from Fairfax CourtHouse, and soon after that its line of fortifications atCentreville--the most extensive system of field fortifications inmilitary history up to that time--was abandoned. As the Union armiestook the initiative in their repeated efforts to reach Richmond, thecrossroads at Fairfax Court House had key importance in thecommunication and supply systems of these forces. From 1862 to the end of the war, Union troops remained in control ofthe crossroads and the courthouse. Contemporary photographs of thebuilding show it being used as a lookout point and station forpatrols. Other descriptions indicate that the courthouse wasloopholed, [88] the furnishings were removed, and the interiorgenerally was gutted so that only the walls and roof remained. [89] Forall practical purposes, the courthouse and its related buildings were, in the years 1863 and 1864, a military outpost and minor headquartersin the Union army's system to protect its supply and communicationslines from the irregular troops who kept hostilities constantlysmoldering in Northern Virginia. Throughout the western part ofFairfax County, and in Loudoun, Fauquier and Prince William Counties, lived many who gave the appearance of innocent farmers during thedaylight hours, but who changed into Confederate uniforms at night andon weekends to ride against isolated outposts or supply points of theUnion army or destroy vulnerable bridges and communications centers. The operations of these guerilla bands kept thousands of Union troopspinned down on rear area security guard duty, and preoccupied theforces assigned to Fairfax Court House. The difficulty of their taskunder the circumstances that prevailed in Northern Virginia wasdramatized in the famous Confederate raid on Fairfax Court House bymen under the command of Col. John S. Mosby when, on the night ofMarch 8, 1863, the Confederate commander with about 30 men capturedand carried off 33 prisoners, including Union Brigadier General EdwinH. Stoughton, and a large number of horses and quantity of supplies. Throughout 1863, 1864 and the spring of 1865 hardly a night went bywithout some cries of alarm and shots being fired because of theactivities of the Confederate irregulars. Yet they took a substantialtoll from the wealth and welfare of the very people they claimed torepresent, for the Union troops soon learned more efficiency in theirrear area operations, and increased the restrictions on movement ofcivilian traffic. The transaction of personal business in normal waysbecame virtually impossible. The historian, Bruce Catton, has assessedthe activities of the guerilla bands as follows: The quality of these bands varied greatly. At the top was John S. Mosby's courageous soldiers led by a minor genius, highly effective in partisan warfare. Most of the groups, however, were about one degree better than plain outlaws, living for loot and excitement, doing no actual fighting if they could help it, and offering a secure refuge to any number of Confederate deserters and draft evaders. . . . The worst damage which this system did to the Confederacy, however, was that it put Yankee soldiers in a mood to be vengeful. [90] During the years when normal business at the courthouse was suspendedand the county officials who held authority from the General Assemblywere dispersed, some of the county's records were removed from thecourthouse for safekeeping, and some were not. [91] In either case theywere subject to the risks of loss and damage. Some were carried offand in later years have been brought to light as the descendents ofUnion and Confederate soldiers have found them in places where theyhad been put for safekeeping. The jail building ceased to be used for its original purpose, and, during the latter months of the war, the jail of Alexandria County(now Arlington County) was utilized for Fairfax County'sprisoners. [92] The effort to provide a legitimate successor to the secessiongovernment in Richmond started in the Wheeling Conventions of May andJune 1861, from which came the Unionist government of Francis H. Pierpont. [93] The admission of West Virginia to the Union in December1862[94] left Governor Pierpont in control of only those parts ofNorthern Virginia, the Shenandoah Valley, and Chesapeake Bay that wereoccupied by Federal troops. Within this area, the Pierpontadministration collected taxes and attempted to supply the essentialservices of civilian government. Closer touch with these problems waspossible after June 1863, when Governor Pierpont moved his governmentto Alexandria. On January 19, 1863, a new County Court for Fairfax County wasconvened pursuant to a proclamation by Governor Pierpont whichdirected that the place for the court's sessions should be changedfrom Fairfax Court House to the Village of West End[95] nearAlexandria. Here, in January 1863, the Court met in a structure knownas Bruin's Building. The minutes of this and other sessions whichfollowed recite many of the same problems and disputes that always hadoccupied the time of county courts--dockets of minor criminal andcivil cases, petitions to higher levels of government, determinationof minor civil disputes, issuances of permits and licenses, andappointment of public officials. [96] Certain items in the minutes of this January 19, 1863 meetingdocumented the strains created by the wartime conditions: a petitionto the Secretary of War prayed that the "Bruin Building" in theVillage of West End be placed at the court's disposal; the DeputyCommissioner of Revenue was directed to discharge the duties of theCommissioner until the latter, currently a prisoner in Richmond, couldreturn to his duties; payments were approved for wagonowners who hadhauled books, papers and records to the courthouse from various pointsin Fairfax and nearby counties. One item of particular intereststated: The fact having been brought to the notice of the Court that degradations were being committed upon the Mt. Vernon Estate, the Court, under the Chancery powers vested therein, appointed Jonathan Roberts, the present Sheriff, Curator, to take charge of all property in Fairfax County, Va. Belonging to the heirs of John A. Washington, dec. [97] After the cessation of fighting in April 1865, Governor Pierpont movedhis government from Alexandria to Richmond. However, without thepresidential support which Lincoln had provided during his lifetime, the Pierpont administration found it increasingly difficult to carryon effective government as the years immediately after the war sawnumerous plans for reconstruction competing for favor. The situationwas further complicated by the fact that in February 1864 the Pierpontadministration had sponsored a constitutional convention which hadadopted a new constitution for Virginia, and that this constitutionhad nominally gone into effect in Alexandria and Fairfax counties. [98]A complex legal problem regarding the succession of governmentalauthority thus was added to the formidable task of reconstructingFairfax County's economy and physical facilities. This task was made difficult because many of the records of the Countyhad been scattered or destroyed during the fighting. Records weresearched out and retrieved whenever their places of safekeeping wereknown, a process requiring years of effort. Some record books werenever found. The accounts of how the wills of George and MarthaWashington were recovered are frequently cited to illustrate thedifficulties of reassembling Fairfax County's records. When, in the fall of 1861, Beauregard's Confederate troops withdrewfrom Fairfax County, the will of George Washington was secretlyremoved from the courthouse by the court clerk, Alfred Moss, and takento Richmond. Here it was placed for safekeeping with the Secretary ofthe Commonwealth of Virginia. Following the cessation of hostilities, it was returned to Fairfax County. [99] Martha Washington's will was not removed from the courthouse toRichmond, but remained there during the time Union troops occupied thebuilding as a patrol point. As might be expected, cabinets were brokenopen and papers scattered. One day, late in 1862, a troop of soldiersfrom New England was in the building and engaged in shoveling out thedebris from the floor. A Union lieutenant named Thompson grew curiousabout these papers and interrupted the work long enough to examinesome of them. He picked up the will of Martha Washington and, recognizing it, took it with him. Following the war, the will next washeard of in 1903 in England where a descendant of Lt. Thompson soldit to J. P. Morgan. The sale was reported to the Commonwealth Attorneyof Fairfax County who wrote Mr. Morgan seeking the return of the will, but no answer was ever received. After Mr. Morgan's death, the Countysought to obtain the will from his son. Negotiations were unsuccessfuluntil court action was begun by the County. Finally, one day beforethe matter was to be argued before the United States Supreme Court, the will was returned. [100] NOTES FOR CHAPTER IV [83] Thomas Chapman, Jr. , "The Secession Election in Fairfax County, May 23, 1861", _Yearbook of the Historical Society of Fairfax County_, IV (1955) 50. [84] Robert Anderson, "The Administration of Justice in the Countiesof Fairfax, Alexandria (Arlington) and the City of Alexandria (PartII)", _The Arlington Historical Magazine_, II (October 1962) 10-11. [85] Ordinance 67, passed by the Virginia Convention, 26 June, 1861, cited by Anderson, "Administration of Justice", p. 10. [86] Governor William Smith, "The Skirmish at Fairfax Court House", _The Fairfax County Centennial Commission_, (Vienna, Virginia: 1961)p. 4. Because of the confusion in the Confederate ranks, no officertook charge, and so Governor Smith ordered the Confederate troops toreturn the fire of the Federal soldiers. [87] The Fairfax Court House meeting, which took place in Gen. Beauregard's headquarters near the courthouse, has been the subject ofcontroversy in the memoirs of those involved. See, for example, Jefferson Davis, _The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government_, (New York: Yoseloff, 1958), I, 368, 448-452, 464; Alfred Roman, _Military Operations of Gen. Beauregard_, (New York: Harper & Bros. , 1884), I, 137-139. [88] _Washington Post_, April 10, 1921. [89] _Alexandria Gazette_ and _Fairfax News_, October 17, 1862. [90] Bruce Catton, _A Stillness at Appomatox_, (New York: CardinalGiant Edition, Pocket Books, Inc. , 1958), pp. 318-319. [91] Two items from the _Alexandria Gazette_ in July 1862 illustratethe problems regarding these records. The edition of July 12, 1862printed a letter to the newspaper stating that records of FairfaxCounty had lately been found in Warrenton, having been removed there, it was supposed, by lawyers. The new sheriff of the County tookpossession of these records. The edition of July 23, 1862 reportedthat the new County Court of Fairfax held its July term in the Clerk'soffice, the courthouse not being in condition for that purpose, andthat one of the court's actions was to order that application be madefor a new seal, the old one not being found. [92] Fairfax County Court Minute Book, 1863-1867, p. 130. This orderwas entered November 25, 1864, and was rescinded by a subsequent orderentered November 22, 1865. Minute Book, 1863-1867, p. 289. [93] The Unionists in northern and western Virginia met twice inconventions held at Wheeling. In May 1861 a convention of some 400so-called delegates from the counties in these regions met to considertheir stake in the State's constitutional crisis, but took no actionsince Virginia had not yet ratified the secession ordinance. A secondconvention at Wheeling was held in June 1861, and organized a Unionistgovernment for the State which claimed the authority of the GeneralAssembly (which it asserted had forfeited its authority by rebellion)and other constitutional officials. Francis H. Pierpont served asgovernor of this Unionist government of Virginia. [94] The Congressional approval of West Virginia's admission occurredin December 1862, but it was not until June 1863 that PresidentLincoln proclaimed the admission of the new State and approval of itsconstitution. [95] Fairfax County Court Minute Book, 1863-1867, p. 2. [96] _Ibid. _ Minutes of a meeting of the court on January 19, 1863. [97] _Ibid. _ The practical effect of this order has been questioned, however, since Mt. Vernon was sold out of the Washington family in1859 to the Mt. Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union, and theWashingtons had, by 1863, moved to Fauquier County, leaving neitherrelatives or property in Fairfax County. Interview with Judge JamesKeith, April 1972. [98] As described in William Hemphill, Marvin Schlegel and SadieEngelberg, _Cavalier Commonwealth: History and Government ofVirginia_, (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1957), 339-340, this constitutioncontained various new provisions, such as the abolition of slavery anddenial of suffrage to all men who held office under a Confederategovernment. [99] Eugene E. Prussing, _The Estate of George Washington, Deceased_, (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co. , 1927) pp. 39-40. "Martha Washington'sWill and the Story of its Loss and Recovery by Fairfax County, "_Yearbook of the Historical Society of Fairfax County, Virginia_, II(1952-53) 40-62. [100] "Martha Washington's Will, " p. 61. CHAPTER V THE YEARS OF REBUILDING: 1865-1903 With the end of the war the formidable tasks of rebuilding both stateand local governments were begun. President Abraham Lincoln's view ofreconstruction had been that the government which took Virginia out ofthe Union should be the one to bring her back into the Union, [101] andPresident Andrew Johnson generally sought to follow this principle. Others, mainly the Radical Republican leaders, argued that Virginiahad forfeited her sovereignty by rebellion, and so could not return tothe Union except on new terms. [102] In this respect, President Johnsonfound that the presence of Governor Pierpont in Richmond--purportingto govern under the constitution which his government had drafted andratified in Alexandria in 1864--was a complicating factor. Not onlywas the legitimacy of this constitution questioned, but all evidencepointed to the conclusion that the state's leaders who had served theConfederacy could not and would not accept it. An unsuccessful attempt to improve the constitution was made in thesummer of 1865, and thereafter a series of confusing elections andadministrations followed as the Radical Republican leaders in Congressoverrode President Johnson's reconstruction program. [103] In March1867, the territory of nine former Confederate states was divided intofive military districts, in which army commanders were authorized tooversee the civil administrations of the states. In Virginia'smilitary district, the army commander, General John Schofield, interfered very little with the administration of Francis Pierpont, who served as Provisional Governor. Pierpont provided a measure ofneeded stability compared to what had preceded it, and as a resultslow but steady progress was made toward reconstituting some of theessential elements of local government in the state. [104] The prospect of restoration of full political power to the statesappeared briefly in March 1867 when Congress provided that theConfederate states would be readmitted to the Union and theirdelegations would be seated in Congress when they adoptedconstitutions which conformed to the Constitution of the United Stateswith the new Fourteenth Amendment. A convention, dominated largely byRepublican reconstructionists, met in December 1867 and brought forththe so-called "Underwood Constitution, " named for Judge John Underwoodwho presided at the convention. The proposed new constitution contained the main features which wereneeded to secure reinstatement of Virginia's sovereignty. In addition, however, it contained a controversial provision which, in effect, disenfranchised thousands who had served the Confederacy. Thus, thechoice offered in the impending ratification referendum was difficultfor most Virginians. So controversial was this matter that the armycommander was moved to intervene and postpone the referendumindefinitely. [105] Stalemate followed during 1868 and 1869. FrancisPierpont was replaced in the office of Provisional Governor by HenryHoratio Wells, a New Yorker who was favored by the RadicalRepublicans. Progress toward reconstitution of local government lostmomentum as state leadership lapsed. Intervention by President Grant finally brought action on theUnderwood Constitution by proposing that Virginians vote on thecontroversial disenfranchisement clauses separate from the mainfeatures of the document. In July 1869, the vote was taken, with theexpected result that the "test oath" provision was defeated while theconstitution was approved. In the General Assembly elected under thisconstitution, the Conservative Party enjoyed a working majority overthe Republicans, who had been badly split by the referendumcontroversy. Henry Wells resigned, and was replaced by Gilbert Walker, who served first by appointment of the army commander and later byvirtue of election to a constitutional four-year term. In January1870, legislators from Virginia resumed their seats in the Congress, and the last Federal occupation troops left the State. The Underwood Constitution introduced major changes into the structureof local government. [106] It adopted the Northern system of dividingcounties into townships, [107] with a justice of the peace exercisinghis authority only within his township. Other elective officesintroduced at this time were county supervisors, a county clerk, collector, assessor, overseer of the poor, and overseer of roads. Allthese officials--some serving the township and others the county--weresalaried, and greatly increased the size of the governmental apparatusformerly centered in the county court. The Board of county supervisorswas the general governing body of the county, comprised of memberselected from each township. Although this expansion of the structure of county government came inresponse to recognition that problems of the 1870's could not besolved with government geared to the 1770's, the impact of theseproblems plus Virginians' conservative political tradition led todissatisfaction with the township system from its inception. As soonas the original force of the reconstruction movement was spent, therefore, this system was modified to bring it more into line withVirginia's historic governmental institutions. In 1875 and 1884 thenumber of separate elective offices was decreased, the independentpowers of the townships were reduced, and the townships were convertedinto "magisterial districts. "[108] Gradually the power to appoint allcounty officers except those with constitutional status was given tothe board of county supervisors and the county's Circuit Court judge. [Illustration: Map of Fairfax Court House from G. M. Hopkins, _Atlasof Fifteen Miles Around Washington_, 1879. ] The last quarter of the nineteenth century saw the appearance anddisappearance of a number of public offices now only dimly remembered. For example, the county office of commissioner of roads dated from1831, but the constitution of 1869 created township overseers of roadswho, with the commissioner of roads, formed the county road board. When the townships were abolished, the duties of these boards weretransferred to the commissioner of roads and road surveyor. By 1900this highly decentralized system had resulted in enactment of severalhundred local road laws by the states and led to a confused situationthat was not cured until the state highway system and highwaydepartment were established in 1919. [109] From the time of the disestablishment of the Church of England, careof the County's poor and orphans had been the responsibility of theCounty's overseer of the poor. Public health measures to suppresssmallpox also were carried on by this officer. The constitution of1869 created a superintendent of the poor for each county, elected bypopular vote, and the overseers of the poor became township officers. With the abolition of the townships, the superintendent of the pooralso disappeared and the overseers became officers of the magisterialdistricts. [110] In the early days of the nineteenth century, the justices of theCounty Court had been responsible for the County's militia. Thissystem was changed in 1833 when the militia were reorganized to formdivisions, brigades and regiments on a state-wide basis. Officers wereappointed by the governor on recommendation of the county court. Thissystem continued until the Civil War, and when the militia wasestablished after the war it was managed entirely from the statelevel. [111] In the changes that followed the shift of governing power to the boardof county supervisors, one of the chief losers was the county sheriff. He ceased to have any control of elections or revenue matters, and hisother powers and prerogatives connected with administrative functionsof county government were lost to others. He became exclusively apeace officer and custodian of the county jail, and these are theduties of his office today. As the nineteenth century ended, Virginia moved toward anotherconstitutional convention--its fifth since 1776--with the hope ofmodernizing the machinery of government. As matters turned out, however, the resulting constitution of 1902 was not a forward-lookingdocument, and its chief results were to formalize changes which hadalready occurred in practice. Thus, much debate was spent on howvoting qualifications should be regulated, and whether the old countycourt should be abolished or not. Fairfax County's representatives inthe convention voted for retaining the county court, arguing that themonthly sessions had significant social values--an "heirloom of greatpsychological importance. " Ultimately, however, the vote went againstretention of the county court and it was abolished. Its judicialfunctions were assigned to the circuit court, and its legislative andadministrative functions were performed by the board ofsupervisors. [112] The disappearance of this political institution which had been thefocal point of Virginia's local government for almost 300 years, marked the end of an era which reflected the tradition that publicaffairs were best managed by the county's gentlemen freeholders. Butit did not immediately usher in as its successor an era ofprofessionalism and responsiveness to the wishes of the public. Progress in these latter respects was postponed by slowness inwidening the suffrage and the opportunity to hold public office. Inthis respect the Constitution of 1902 perpetuated the restrictivesystem which had prevailed since 1875 by retaining the capitation taxand the requirements of literacy and/or the ability to explain anypart of the constitution. The beginning of the twentieth century also marked the end of therebuilding years which had followed the Civil War. The simple strugglefor subsistence, which had been the foremost theme when scarcitiesexisted in all types of goods and the sources of capital were meager, no longer was the overriding consideration. A measure of normalcy had, by 1902, returned to life in Northern Virginia. And if the pace ofthis style of life was not as vigorous or spectacular as in some otherareas of the nation at that time, it offered, at least, thesubstantial attractions of a comfortable and secure rural setting withready access to the centers of commerce and culture in nearbyWashington, Alexandria, and Georgetown. NOTES FOR CHAPTER V [101] Hemphill, et al. , _Cavalier Commonwealth_, p. 346. [102] Samuel E. Morison and Henry S. Commager, _The Growth of theAmerican Republic_, (New York: Oxford, 1937), II, 37-41. [103] Porter, _County Government_, p. 241. [104] Walter L. Fleming, _The Sequel of Appomatox_, (New Haven: YaleUniversity, 1921), pp. 146-147. [105] Explaining his action to General Grant, then supreme commanderof all the military districts, General Schofield stated that themembers of the Underwood Convention "could only hope to obtain officeby disqualifying everybody in the State who is capable of dischargingofficial duties, and all else to them was of comparatively slightimportance. Even the question of whether their constitution will beratified or rejected they treat with indifference. Congress, they say, will make it all right anyway. " Hemphill, et al. , _CavalierCommonwealth_, p. 352. [106] See Porter, _County Government_, pp. 243-246, 258-259, 293. [107] The introduction of the township was probably due to the factthat a number of New Yorkers participated in the convention. Townshipshad never been part of the tradition of Virginia's local government. [108] Virginia, Laws of 1874-75, c. 270. [109] Porter, _County Government_, pp. 249, 271; _Code of Virginia_(1950 Edn. ) Title 33, c. 1. [110] Porter, _County Government_, pp. 258-59, 289. [111] _Ibid. _, p. 177. [112] Ralph McDanel, _The Virginia Constitutional Convention of1891-92_, (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1928), p. 103, reports that R. Walton Moore was one of Fairfax County's delegation tothe convention, and that he argued strongly for the social values ofretaining the court. The motion to retain the monthly county court wasdefeated, however, by a vote of 41 to 19. [Illustration: The dedication of the Marr Monument in 1904. Copy byLee Hubbard. ] CHAPTER VI THE TWENTIETH CENTURY COURTHOUSE The twentieth century brought Fairfax County more than a newconstitutional framework; it brought a new outlook and spirit. Something of this spirit was reflected in the following quotation froma short history and prospectus of the County published by the CountyBoard of Supervisors in 1907: Verily, Fairfax County, old in its history, and hoary in its traditions, is throbbing with a new life and enterprise. Only yesterday were her advantages and possibilities appreciated; yet, today she is attracting settlers from all parts of the Union, and even from foreign countries. Certainly no other section extends a more cordial welcome and more attractive inducements to the investor and home-seeker. [113] If this statement seemed perhaps a bit too eager, it was at leasthopeful and optimistic in contrast to the spirit that had prevailedduring the long years of reconstruction. It expressed a feeling ofconfidence that came from having weathered the depression whichfollowed the Panic of 1893 better than many parts of the country. [114] [Illustration: "The Tavern, " across Little River Turnpike from thecourthouse. Photo by Helen Hill Miller, 1932. ] [Illustration: The courthouse about 1907. ] One reason for this was Fairfax County's expanding contacts with thecity of Washington, chiefly by having become a supplier of its dairyand truck garden produce, and by becoming the residential area forincreasing numbers of employees of the Federal governmentalestablishment. These elements of the economy of Northern Virginiaoffered more resistance to the depression of the 1890's than waspossible in the areas of south and central Virginia which depended oncotton and tobacco. In turn, it was the development of rapid railroad service, both steamand electric, that made both of these developments possible at thistime. The critical importance of this transportation was recognized bythe County Supervisors' publication: The eastern part of the county is in the immediate vicinity of the cities of Washington and Alexandria; while all sections of it are within a few hours' drive of these cities. In addition to the accessibility of these cities by roadways, three steam and three electric railways connect the county with Washington. The greatest trunk lines north and south traverse Fairfax County. Through trains on the Pennsylvania, Southern, Chesapeake and Ohio, Norfolk and Western, Seaboard Air Line, and the Atlantic Coast Line, are hourly passing through this county, affording convenient and direct connection with all parts of the country. Every section of the county is within easy reach of some one of these roads; and with their double track facilities, and consequent excellent local accommodations, great activity in suburban home building is observed on every hand. Especially is this true along the lines of the electric railways, where numerous villages are springing into existence. The proximity and accessibility to Washington, the most magnificent city in the world, together with the splendid natural advantages of Fairfax, must inevitably make the county rich, populous and great. [115] The heydays of the steam and electric railroads in Northern Virginiawere followed in the 1920's by improvement and expansion of the roadsystem. [116] As the number of automobiles increased--and theirprevalence was forecast by designation of present Lee Highway as theinitial segment of the first transcontinental highway running westwardfrom the zero milestone on the ellipse in Washington--the paving ofroads became a major concern of local communities. Both free publichighways and toll turnpikes built by subscription and bond issues wereundertaken in Fairfax County. Even after the County elected to turnover its roadbuilding to the state under the Byrd Road Act in 1932, the County's leaders continued to have a deep interest in theincreased population growth that roads and railroads made possible. Increased population brought increased needs for various new publicservices. Shortly after the first State Board of Health wasestablished in Virginia in 1900, the counties of the State establishedlocal boards. The Chairman of the Board of County Supervisorsautomatically became Chairman of the Health Board in this earlyexperiment in public health services. [117] The machinery for raisingrevenue was made more efficient by redrawing the division of laborbetween the commissioner of revenue and the county treasurer. Most far-reaching in the long run, however, was the enactment in 1920of state legislation giving counties the option of adopting variousmanagerial forms of government if they so desired. Fairfax Countyexercised this option in 1951 by adopting the County Executive form ofgovernment. [118] Under this form of county government, the Board of Supervisorsremained the sole legislative authority of the County, but theexecutive functions were placed under the supervision of a newofficer, the county executive. The county executive, as well as allboards and commissions responsible for special services andadministrative functions, were appointed by the Board of Supervisors, and served either for specified terms or at the pleasure of the Board. The Supervisors continued to be elected by the County's voters, eachfrom one of the magisterial districts. This method of election wasadopted deliberately as a means of maintaining a balance of politicalrepresentation of the western and southern parts of the County, whichstill were rural in their economic and social orientation, and thenorth, east and central areas of the County, which had beenintensively developed as part of the suburbs of Washington andAlexandria. The involvement of the public in county government was seen in manyforms. Service on county boards and commissions was one. Also, asnewcomers poured into the county seeking homes, the neighborhoods andcommunities formed civic organizations or citizens associations toprovide means for group action on problems of common concern. Parallelto these groups, others, such as Parent-Teachers Associations, formedto deal with school-related problems which were both inside andoutside the scope of governmental services in the field of education. These forms of citizen involvement in public affairs--prompted partlyby the sheer size of the new demands for service and partly becausethe newcomers to Fairfax County came from areas where wideparticipation in local government was taken for granted--had aprofound effect on the County's historic outlook on public affairs. Nolonger was it accepted that certain families or individuals held amongthemselves the privileges, powers and obligations of governing. Thistradition, symbolized by the gentlemen justices of colonial times andthe nineteenth century, was replaced by a new system where politicalleadership was established through service in the community andverified by the ability to win in competition at the polls. The new dimensions of government's role necessitated finding morespace for the county's offices. The clerk's office, whichhistorically had been the focal point for the County's continuingadministrative functions, ceased to be able to contain all theCounty's offices as early as the 1920's. An additional building wasauthorized, but delays in financing and construction postponed itscompletion until 1934. [119] However, by 1940 this building was socrowded that both its attic and basement had been converted to officespace, and many County agencies were using additional rented space innon-County buildings. Plans were developed in the early-1940's for a major addition to thecourthouse building. Delays were encountered, first because of theshortages of materials and manpower during the years of World War II, and then because of problems of funding this work amid other urgentdemands for tax revenue. Ultimately, both shortages were relieved, andwork was begun on the central block and south wing of the courthouseas they appear today. [120] The jail section and wing containing theclerk's records of land transactions and court proceedings were addedto the building in 1956. [121] As the County's need for space to house its governmental officescontinued to grow through the 1960's, some consideration was given tomoving the courthouse to a new location. [122] The transformation ofFairfax from a town into a city in 1961 added a complicating factor tothis issue for it meant that technically the County had no controlover the land on which its seat of government stood. The City ofFairfax, however, was anxious to keep the center of County governmentin its existing location, and offered to condemn sufficient land forthe County's building needs. [123] The seat of county government remained at Fairfax, but the courthousesquare no longer sufficed to contain the complex of buildingsinvolved. By 1969 construction had been completed on a CountyGovernmental Center, later named the Massey Building, to honor CarltonMassey, the first County Executive, who served from 1952 to 1971. Aseparate building was erected nearby for the County Police Department, and plans were made for other buildings in the future. [124] [Illustration: Rear view of the Fairfax County courthouse complex. Photo by the Office of Public Affairs, about 1972. ] [Illustration: View of the Fairfax County Courthouse, the MasseyBuilding, and downtown Fairfax. Photo by Bernie Boston, 1976. ] Overshadowing the old courthouse tract, the new center of governmentnevertheless preserves the evidence of the past by continuing use ofthe original (north) section of the courthouse building and its 1953addition, all in an architectural style reminiscent of the colonialperiod in Virginia. The presence of the past combine with a sense ofthe present and the future to make the Fairfax County Courthouse botha symbol and a functioning seat of a county government which in theyear 1976 had been in existence for more than two centuries. NOTES FOR CHAPTER VI [113] Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, _Industrial and HistoricalSketch of Fairfax County, Virginia_, (Fairfax: County Board ofSupervisors, 1907), p. 5. [114] Allen W. Moger, "The Rebuilding of the Old Dominion, "(Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Columbia University, 1940), pp. 95-96. [115] Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, _Industrial and HistoricalSketch_, pp. 5-6. [116] The campaign to improve Virginia's roads had been waged sincethe 1890's. See, for example, the rhetoric and argument in favor ofroad improvements set forth in the _Programme of the Virginia GoodRoads Convention_, (Roanoke: Stone Printing, Co. , 1894) held inRichmond in October 1894. As to the effects of the rise of automotivetravel, see Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce, _Historic, ProgressiveFairfax County in Old Virginia_, (Alexandria: Newell-Cole, 1928), pp. 20-21, containing a road map of the county's hard-surfaced roads andunimproved roads in 1928. [117] Porter, _County Government_, p. 291. [118] Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, _Annual Report, 1969_, p. 6. [119] Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Minute Book, v. 5, 318, William Deming was the architect of this project. As with previousexpansions of the clerk's office, the old building was torn down andthe bricks re-used in the new building. [120] Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Minute Book, v. 5, 318; v. 9 (1939-40), 501; v. 10 (1941-42), 175; v. 12 (1949-50), 4; v. 18(1950-51), 497; v. 20 (1953), 519. [121] Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Minute Book, v. 30 (1960), pp. 418-23. [122] Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Minute Book, v. 32, 264-65notes that Reston offered 50 acres for the use of the courthouse, andTyson's Corner and the intersection of Routes 495 and 50 also wereconsidered. See also, _Ibid. _, v. 39 (1964), 117. [123] Fairfax County Deed Book, B-2, pp. 373-376; 503-504. Thecourthouse commissioners were Charles Little, David Stuart, WilliamPayne, James Wren, and George Minor. [124] Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Minute Book, v. 36, 313; v. 39, 544. On April 7, 1965 the Board of Supervisors voted to constructa new office building and authorize a referendum for a $5, 500, 000 bondissue for this project. The bonds were approved by the voters, and thebuilding was built on a 35-acre tract belonging to Mary Ambler, whichwas condemned by the city and then purchased by the county from thecondemnor. The architect for the project was William Vosbeck, and thecontractor was the Blake Construction Company, Fairfax County Board ofSupervisors, _Annual Report_, 1968, p. 4. CHAPTER VII THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE COURTHOUSE AND ITS RELATED BUILDINGS 1. THE COURTHOUSE COMPLEX Among the courthouses built in England's North American colonies, those of Virginia developed characteristics which expressed peculiarlywell the prevailing patterns of landholding and manner of conductinglocal government. Unlike New England, where each small community hadits frame meeting house, containing within its walls "all the ideals, political, moral, intellectual and religious of the people whoattended, "[125] the seats of county government in colonial Virginiawere centrally located in rural settings. A few county courthousesgrew into regional centers of commerce, industry and finance; but mostremained independent and apart from any surrounding community, andsome may still be seen today standing "as solitary sentinels, symbolicof government. "[126] It was also characteristic of Virginia that these courthouses were notsingle buildings, but were complexes of several structures. Thetypical courthouse compound was enclosed by a brick wall, inside whichwere a courthouse, a jail, a clerk's office, and, sometimes, a row orcluster of offices for lawyers. Invariably, also, an inn or ordinaryoccupied a site within the compound or immediately adjacent to it. This style of courthouse may be found through Virginia, dating fromearliest colonial times; and, although many fine courthouses are foundin the early architecture of Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania andNorth Carolina, none of these areas developed the design concept of acourthouse compound. This design concept was used in the courthouses of Fairfax County atSpringfield (1742-1752) and Alexandria (1752-1800); and it wasfollowed in the county's third courthouse which was completed in 1800. The courthouse tract was situated near the geographical center of theCounty, at the intersection of the Little River Turnpike and the oldColchester Road. The tract consisted of four acres, acquired by a deedfrom Richard Ratcliffe and his wife Serian. Specified in the deed werestructures including a courthouse, clerk's office and goal, ". . . Andevery other building and Machine necessary . . . "--the latter presumablyreferring to gallows, pillory, stocks, and the like. The May 1798Fairfax County Court Order Book did specify that the courthouse shouldbe forty-by-thirty feet with a twelve-foot portico, the gaolforty-by-twenty, the clerk's office twenty-by-eighteen and coveredwith slate or tile, a gaoler's house twenty-four-by-eighteen feet, andthat stocks, pillory and whipping post also be provided by letting theentire ". . . Building of the same to the lowest bidder. "[127] In accordance with statutory requirements, space was delineated forthe prison bounds. This was done in March 1800, and the area wasdescribed in a survey and report of the commissioners, asfollows:[128] In obedience to the order of the worshipful Court of this County, hereunto annexed, we the subscribers in company with Col. William Payne, the Surveyor of this County, proceeded this thirteenth day of March Eighteen Hundred, to lay off ten acres of ground for the prison rules of this County, and have ascertained and bounded the same by the following meets and boundaries, . . . Including the said four acres, the Court house, Gaol, Clerk's office, the brick Tavern, Kitchen, Stables and store house, and beg leave to report the same with the plat thereof hereunto also annexed. --Given unto our hands and seals: Thomas Gunnell (Seal) N. Fitzhugh (Seal) T. Ellzey (Seal) Whether all of the buildings mentioned in this report actually existedat that time may be questioned, since the survey plat shows only thecourthouse, clerk's office and jail. As to these three, the platshowed the courthouse situated as at present, with the clerk's officealmost directly south a distance of about 300 feet, and the jail aboutthe same distance south, but in back and west of the clerk's office. The plat does not show roads or other features of the platted parcel, but the known position of the courthouse in relation to the turnpikesupports the suggestion that the brick tavern referred to was locatedon the north side of the turnpike, the building later known variouslyas the Willcoxen Tavern, the Union Tavern and the Fairfax Tavern. Theother buildings referred to in the report apparently left no traces, for except through an occasional glimpse of them in old photographs ofthe courthouse, they are not noted in the records of the court. These buildings formed a cluster which, if it was not all neatlyenclosed within the courthouse fence, at least was immediatelyadjacent to and integrated with the activities centered in the court. In the first three decades of the nineteenth century, the town ofProvidence grew up around the courthouse, and by 1835 some 50dwellings and 200 residents were listed. [129] But the town nevereclipsed the courthouse; and, from its commanding position on thegentle hill at the crossroads, the courthouse itself continues toserve as a focal point and symbol of government. _The Clerk's Office. _ An office for the Clerk of the County Court wasmentioned in the survey of the courthouse lot made in March 1800, andwas shown on a location south of the courthouse about 200 feet andeast of the jail about sixty feet. According to the survey the officewas a relatively small building, one or one-and-one-half stories high, with a chimney at the south end and a door opening on the east side. This office was the depository of all important public records in thecounty, and therefore was a focal point for much of the activity thatoccurred at the courthouse throughout the year. A news report in the_Alexandria Daily Advertiser_ of February 10, 1806 called for bids foran addition to the clerk's office and repairs on the "publicbuilding, " all of which should be in accordance with a plan lodgedwith Col. James Wren, and constructed of brick "covered withslate. "[130] During the next forty years, the functions of the clerk grew in bothsize and importance as he was called upon to serve both the Countycourt and the circuit court. The need for repairs combined with theneed for more space required increasing attention to the old building, until, in 1853, it was determined that a new office building for theclerk must be built. Newman Burke, George W. Hunter, Jr. And AlfredMoss were appointed commissioners to oversee the demolition of the oldoffice building and the construction of a new one. Fortunately, the commissioners' notice to builders, inviting bids onthese jobs, was published in the _Alexandria Gazette and VirginiaAdvertiser_ of July 15, 1853, and provides a detailed description ofthe materials and construction to be used. It included the instructionthat such of the old materials as could be used in the rebuildingshould be so used. Like the courthouse building, the clerk's office suffered damage anddeterioration during the war years of 1861-65. When the courthousecompound became a headquarters for Union army patrols, and civiliangovernment either ceased or moved to a temporary seat elsewhere, careand custody of the clerk's office could not be guaranteed. Many ofthe record books and files were taken to places of safekeeping inprivate homes. However, many could not be moved in time to preventthem from being scattered, taken, lost or destroyed as soldiersoccupied the office building. When the war ended, the task ofre-equipping the office and restoring it to usefulness was a majorone. [Illustration: The clerk's office about 1907. ] In 1875, the clerk's office burned and subsequently, a new officebuilding was added to the courthouse complex. It was a two-story brickbuilding, larger than the old clerk's office and located beyond it tothe south of the courthouse. It was probably completed by 1881, atwhich time the board of supervisors was appropriating funds for newfurnishings. The architecture of this newest office presented amixture of three styles. In overall appearance, its square shape, hipped roof and functional design were reminiscent of the eighteenthcentury buildings of James Wren. The late nineteenth century'spreference for exterior decoration was illustrated by a dentiledcornice, a belt of corbelling three courses wide in the brickworkbelow the cornice, and brick pilasters on each side of the maindoorway, topped by scrolls and brackets supporting the pediment. Inthe center of the building on the second floor, a Palladian-stylewindow was installed, providing a contrast to the design of the otherwindows. Two courses of corbelling also appeared on the two chimneyslocated at the back and in the center section of the building. Notwithstanding these exterior decorations, the general design of theoffice represented a recognition of the needs of office workers andthe response of late nineteenth century architects to provide light, air, and functional efficiency in the arrangement of space foroffices. Telephone service and electric lights were installed in theclerk's office in 1902. [131] After 1932, the old clerk's office was demolished. A new officebuilding was erected south of the courthouse in 1934, with labor andmaterials provided by Federal and Virginia relief funds. This buildingwas demolished when the extensive addition was made to the courthouse, 1951-1954. A new wing was put on the back of the courthouse in 1956 toaccommodate the rapidly increasing quantities of archives generated bythe business of courts and the clerk's office in a county whosepopulation was growing at an unprecedented rate. [132] _The Jail. _ As shown in the survey of the courthouse tract, made inMarch 1800 by the County Surveyor, William Payne, the jail was locatedon the southwestern corner of the original four-acre tract. Nocontemporary descriptions or records of the jail have survived, butthe survey sketch shows a two-story building with chimneys at eachend. Presumably the construction material for the jail was brick, since the other principal buildings in the Fairfax courthouse compoundwere made of this material. With regard to the interior arrangement and description of majorfeatures, conjecture is also necessary. But, again presumptions may bemade that its facilities were the same as others of the time--forexample, that the bars used on doors and windows were the flat type(rather than round or other shapes), which were laid across each otherto form a lattice and riveted together where they overlapped. Also, inaccordance with contemporary custom, it may be presumed that thejailor and his family made their home in the same building with theprisoners, and so attended to their meals and other needs. Exactly when and how the first jail was constructed at the courthousesite is not entirely clear. Payne's survey in 1800 showed a jailbuilding on the site. Yet only nine years later the _Alexandria DailyAdvertiser_, April 8, 1809, carried an invitation for bids to build ajail at Fairfax Court House. Moreover, although the records of thecounty court for the next fifty years contain references to repairsand construction work for the jail, they customarily fail to includedescriptions of work to be done. Accordingly, little can be gleanedfrom these sources to aid the architectural history of the courthousecomplex. [Illustration: The jail, built about 1886. Photo taken in 1972. ] [Illustration: Police Department, about 1947. Photo courtesy theFairfax County Historical Society. ] Along with the other public buildings at the courthouse compound, thejail suffered during the years of war from 1861 to 1865. When civilgovernment ceased to function at the courthouse, competing groups thatclaimed civil authority in Fairfax County used jail facilities inneighboring Alexandria and Leesburg when the need arose. During thelatter years of the war, when Union troops occupied the courthouse, the jail offered its facilities as a storehouse as well as a place ofdetention for military prisoners. But the Army of the Potomac hadlittle time or incentive to keep the jail in good repair, and so, likethe courthouse, it suffered extensively from the war. During the 1870's, repairs and construction of additions to theoriginal building restored the jail to service. The 1879 G. M. Hopkins_Atlas_ showing the courthouse complex depicts the jail as beinglarger than the courthouse in size. In 1884, fire destroyed thisbuilding, and arrangements had to be made to use the Alexandria cityjail until a proper new jail could be constructed for the county. [133] The new jail was located directly behind (west of) the courthouse, facing onto the Little River Turnpike. Its materials and constructionindicate that the original portion was added to on two lateroccasions. When finally completed, the jail was a two-story T-shapedbrick building, with a one-story wooden porch across the full lengthof the front. In the original section (facing onto the turnpike) thewindows have plain wooden pediments. The cornice and chimney tops arecorbelled, and there are iron cresting and finials on the ridge of thehipped roof. In the second section, which forms part of the stem ofthe "T, " there are segmental arches over the windows and an ornamentalcornice consisting of a course of bricks laid vertically. In the thirdsection, which completes the stem of the "T, " the brickwork is laid inFlemish bond (matching the courthouse brickwork in contrast to thecommon bond of the rest of the jail), and the windows are topped withflat arches. The second and third parts of the building are coveredwith a gable roof. [134] In this new jail building, the jailor had living quarters in the frontportion, and until 1948 these were used as his residence. The buildingitself ceased to be used for detention of prisoners shortly after thattime, for when the addition to the courthouse was completed in 1956, jail facilities were incorporated into this addition. Since 1956, theold jail building has been used for offices of various countyagencies, including the juvenile court and probation office, civildefense office, fire board, police dispatcher, and recreationdepartment. [135] _Associated Buildings and Structures. _ Certain structures wereassociated with the courthouse because they were required by statute, and others had their origin in custom and convenience. In 1792, whenthe legislature of the new state government revised the law relatingto organization of the local courts, it reenacted most of the featuresof the system which had been followed in colonial times. By law allcounties had to build and maintain a courthouse, jail, pillory, whipping post, and stocks. This law also required that there be twoacres of land around the buildings of the courthouse, and that prisonbounds of ten acres should be provided for the "health and exercise ofprisoners. "[136] A report of a survey of the courthouse tract in March1800 shows metes and bounds for a four-acre tract within a largerten-acre area, and states that this land was for the purpose oferecting a courthouse, jail, clerk's office, kitchen, stable, andstorehouse plus providing an area to serve as the prison bounds. Additionally, a well was dug a short distance south of the courthouse. Altogether, these comprised the complex of structures associated withthe court in the first half of the nineteenth century. _The Tavern. _ The brick tavern was a substantial building, built onthe north side of the Little River Turnpike directly across from thecourthouse complex. No detailed description of this building as itappeared in 1800 has been found. It was, at least in later years, amulti-story building which rivalled the courthouse in size, andexpanded as the patronage of the circuit-riding judges and theirentourages of attorneys and others combined with the regular passageof travellers on the Little River Turnpike to create a prosperousbusiness climate. After the Civil War, the brick tavern was purchased by Col. H. B. Taylor, who operated it during the 1870's and 1880's. Because of itsfavorable location near the courthouse, the tavern continued to befrequented by those who had business with the court, and lawyersmaintained their offices there. An advertisement in the _FairfaxHerald_ of April 8, 1887 refers to the building as the Union Hotel, and describes it as a three-story brick building with annex, containing about twenty-five rooms, with stable and outbuildings, atwo-acre garden and a fine well--"a desirable residence for summerboarders. " Later in 1887 the name was changed from Union Hotel toFairfax Hotel and its management was taken over by James W. Burke. [137] The hotel continued to be operated until 1932 when it was demolishedto clear the site for subsequent construction of a building for theNational Bank of Fairfax. The bricks, mantels and doors from the hotelwere re-used in construction of the home of Helen Hill and FrancisPickens Miller, called "Pickens Hill. " It is located on Chain BridgeRoad north of Fairfax, and in recent years has become a major buildingof the Flint Hill private school complex. _The Well. _ At the time of construction of the courthouse, a well wasdug on the south side of the building. Over the years, pictures show avariety of overhead coverings to shelter the well and its users. Thewell was a large one, appearing to be four or five feet in diameter atthe top, and was surrounded by a raised platform. Standing on thisplatform, one drew water from the well by a windlass operated by ahand-crank. Later the box on which the windlass was mounted was fittedwith a hand pump, and a trough for filling buckets or other containerswas placed at the side of the well. This well served the courthouseinto the twentieth century, but was closed and capped when the town ofFairfax installed underground water mains. The gazebo-like wellstructure was moved to Sully. "_Public Comfort Station. _" Many references to the early privies inuse on the courthouse grounds appear in both the court order books andthe board of supervisors minute books. As recently as 1931, outsidetoilets were still in use. In October of that year, "the CountyEngineer was instructed to make necessary repairs to the publiccomfort station on the Court House lawn. "[138] _MEMORIALS_ _Memorials of the Wars. _ On the lawn in front of the old courthousestand two monuments to the honored dead of four wars. The John QuincyMarr monument was erected on June 1, 1904, by the Marr Camp, Confederate Veterans, commemorating the first Confederate officerkilled in the Civil War. The second monument was erected under theauspices of the Fairfax County Chapter of the Daughters of theAmerican Revolution. On a bronze plaque on one side are listed thoseFairfax Countians who gave their lives in World War I and on theother, a plaque listing those who gave their lives in World War II andthe Korean conflict. [Illustration: Naval cannon in front of the courthouse. ] [Illustration: The Marr Monument commemorating the first Confederateofficer killed in the Civil War, June 1861. Photo from the NationalArchives. ] Two naval cannons stand on either side of the Marr monument, pointedtoward the National Bank of Fairfax, formerly the site of the bricktavern. Facing the bank, the cannon on the left is inscribed with ananchor and the following lettering: 12 PDR Boat Howitzer 1856 J. A. D. U. S. N. Y. Washington 757 LBS. 58 PRE No. 45. The cannon on the righthas inscriptions which are very worn and indistinct. There is anengraved anchor, but except for a letter here-and-there, theinscription is unreadable. [Illustration: World War I Memorial Plaque. ] [Illustration: World War II and Korean Conflict Memorial Plaque. ] _Plaques and Portraits. _ Mounted in the inside north entrance hallbeside the oldest portion of the courthouse are three plaques. One isa tablet with 160 names of Civil War veterans of Marr Camp, Confederate States of America. The second is a memorial to George Auld(1832-1919), born in Scotland, who "was for many years Chairman of theBoard of Supervisors of Fairfax County, Virginia. . . . " The third is aplaque commemorating the building of the first addition to thecourthouse, A. D. 1929, W. I. Deming, Architect, and C. H. Brooks, Builder. In the central entrance hall, there is a bronze plaquecommemorating the large addition to the courthouse completed in 1954, Robert A. Willgoos and Dwight G. Chase, Architects, and Eugene Simpsonand Bro. , Contractor. A large mural, painted by Esther L. Stewart in1954, is hung above the landing of the grand central staircase. Itdepicts Fairfax County scenes, buildings, and portraits of LordFairfax, George Washington, and George Mason. [Illustration: Mural at the Central Staircase, Fairfax CountyCourthouse. Painted in 1954 by Esther L. Stewart. ] On the brick floor of the arcaded porch of the first (1800) section ofthe courthouse, is a National Register plaque (1974 listing) placed bythe Fairfax County History Commission in 1976. In the hall insidehangs a plaque from the Virginia Historic Landmarks Commissioncommemorating the building's placement on the State Register in 1973. Hanging on the walls of this oldest court chamber are oil portraits ofcounty notables. (See Appendix for biographical listing. ) On the courthouse lawn, a dogwood tree was planted in 1954 dedicatedto the firemen of Fairfax County. A small bronze plaque with a poemand the dedication was set in a cement post under the tree, by theFiremen's Auxiliary. In the wake of its many unresolved historical mysteries, the restoredcourthouse remains a functional courtroom, as required by the termsauthorizing the work. Yet it cannot claim to represent any particularperiod of Fairfax County's history with full historical orarchitectural integrity. As now redesigned and rebuilt, the courthousepresents an outward appearance presumably similar to its originalform. The interior achieves the pleasant appearance and atmosphere ofa working courtroom of the past. NOTES FOR CHAPTER VII [125] Catherine Fennelly, _The New England Village Scene: 1800_, (Sturbridge: Old Sturbridge Village, 1955), p. 9. [126] Sidney Hyman, "Empire of Liberty" in _With Heritage So Rich_, (New York: Random House, 1966), pp. 5-6. [127] Fairfax County Deed Book, B-2, pp. 373-377; 503-504. [128] Fairfax County, Record of Surveys, 1742-1856, p. 93. [129] Joseph Martin, _Gazetteer of Virginia and the District ofColumbia_, (Charlottesville: Martin, 1835), p. 168. [130] Fairfax County, Record of Surveys, Section II, p. 93, March 13, 1800. [131] Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Minute Book, #1, pp. 89, 91, 196, 206 (1871-1881). [132] Interview with Thomas Chapman, Jr. , former Clerk of the CircuitCourt; Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Minute Book #6, pp. 580-582, August 20, 1934; architectural drawings, 1951-1956, Facilities Management Office. [133] Fairfax County Court Minute Book, 1882-1885, April Court, 1884, "The County Jail having been destroyed by fire . . . , " the county courtordered that Alexandria city jail be used until a proper jail could beerected in the county. [134] Fairfax County Court Minute Book, June Court, 1891. [135] Interview with Thomas P. Chapman, Jr. [136] Hening, _Statutes_, October 1792, XIII, 453-455. [137] _Fairfax Herald_, May 13, 1887, notes that Mr. T. R. Sangsterhas removed his law office to the Fairfax Hotel; The Union Hotel andFairfax Hotel sometimes have been assumed to be separate buildings. However, identical advertisements of this hotel appeared in the_Fairfax Herald_ on April 8, 1887 and May 6, 1887, the former callingit the Union Hotel, and the latter calling it the Fairfax Hotel. TheApril 29, 1887 _Fairfax Herald_ reports the rental of the Union Hotelby Burke. By tradition, the hotel building across from the courthousehas been known as the Willcoxen Tavern or just simply "The Tavern. " [138] Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Minute Book, #6 p. 139, October 2, 1931. 2. THE COURTHOUSE _The Courthouse Plan and Its Architect. _ The design of the FairfaxCounty Courthouse followed the Virginia tradition that the seats ofcivil government should be designed with dignity as well as adequacyfor their function. [139] Consequently, the courthouse building, whichin other respects was a plain rectangular two-story brick structure, departed from strict utilitarian design with its open arcade on theground floor front, and its cupola in the center of the roof, servingas a base for the flag pole and housing the bell which was used toannounce the convening of court. The advantages of the two-story building for innovations in design anddecoration were even more evident with respect to the interior. Entered through the front door which opened into the arcade, thecourtroom gave the same impression of vaulted space that is associatedwith the nave of a church. [140] The space over the arcade on thesecond floor was enclosed, and presumably used as the jury room. Thisroom was entered from a balcony located across the front of thebuilding (the back of the court chamber) and along each side of thebuilding. At the front of the chamber (as it appeared in the latenineteenth century) was a raised bench, and directly to the left ofthe judge's seat was a doorway leading into a pair of rooms used bythe Court. No descriptions of the interior of the courtroom as it appeared in theearly part of the nineteenth century have been found; but it isprobably that the business of the court was transacted, as it had beensince early colonial times, at a large table, centered in the mainchamber of the courthouse and spacious enough to seat the justices ofthe County Court and the sheriff, if the business of the day concernedhim. One or more separate tables customarily were provided for theclerk of the court and those of his staff who attended the courtsession. It was also customary to separate the portion of thecourtroom occupied by the Court from that occupied by the public, andthis was accomplished by installation of a wooden railing orpartition. Fireplaces heated the courtroom chamber and a second-floorfireplace heated the jury room above the open arcade. Details of theplastering and woodwork, the lighting fixtures and other hardware arenot known, yet it seems certain they must have been of good taste anddesign, for their selection was in accordance with a plan prepared byJames Wren, the designer of The Falls Church, Christ Church inAlexandria, and probably Pohick Church. Although James Wren's name appears frequently in the public records ofFairfax County during the eighteenth century, his principal legacy wasthe architecture he designed and helped to build. In the 1760'sreferences to him are found throughout the Vestry Books of TruroParish and Fairfax Parish. [141] In 1763 he prepared the plans forconstruction of The Falls Church, which formed the nucleus of thevillage which grew up around it. In 1767 he designed the plans forChrist Church in Alexandria. Wren and William Weit were each paidforty shillings in 1769 for plans furnished to the vestry, for PohickChurch. [142] He had, through design of these and other structures, earned a reputation as the foremost builder and designer of buildingsin his locality[143]--a reputation attested to by numerous contracts, recorded in the Fairfax County Court Order Books, under which youngmen were apprenticed to him to learn the "trade sciences or occupationof a Carpenter and Joiner. " According to Melvin Lee Steadman's genealogy of the Wren family, [144]James Wren was born in King George County about 1728, the son of JohnWren and Ann Turner Wren. He learned his trade of carpentry andjoining there, and about 1755 he moved to Truro Parish, FairfaxCounty. The first reference to James Wren in the land records ofFairfax County is found in a deed dated June 15, 1756 in which oneJames Scott conveyed to Wren a tract of 200 acres on which Wren wasthen living. Ultimately, Wren built a home, now called "Long View, "adjacent to the present city of Falls Church, and assembled asubstantial plantation, known as "Winter Hill, " now within FallsChurch City. He also operated, at Winter Hill, "Colo. Wren's Tavern. " James Wren served as a justice of the County Court. He was a trusteeof the Town of Turberville which in 1798 was laid off on land near theLittle Falls of the Potomac but never fulfilled the hopes of itspromoters. Following his military service in the Revolutionary War heheld various offices in the County government, including that ofsheriff and commissioner of the tax. He acquired extensivelandholdings in Fairfax and Loudoun Counties. James Wren was marriedthree times; first, in 1753, to Catherine Brent of Overwharton Parish(Aquia Church); next, about 1771-74 to Valinda Wade, and last, toSarah Jones of Alexandria in 1804. He died in 1815 and was buried atLong View. [145] The architecture which James Wren created for the courthouse--as wellas his churches and the numerous private buildings he designed andbuilt under contract or for his friends--reflect the general level towhich that art had advanced in colonial Virginia. The styles wereadapted from prototypes in England. [146] Innovations which were madein adapting these styles to American use were, in most instances, attributable to the differences in building materials and the types ofskilled labor which were available to the American builder. _The Origin of the Courthouse Design. _ The architectural design whichJames Wren selected for the Fairfax County Courthouse utilized severalfeatures which already were familiar hallmarks of public buildings incolonial Virginia, and in particular the colonial capitol atWilliamsburg--probably the most impressive public building in Virginiaat that time. The use of brick as building material, the use of twostories, topped by a cupola, and, most strikingly, the use of arches, all combined to suggest the influence of this capitol building on thecourthouse design. [147] The courthouse was far from being a copy ofthe capitol and Wren added to these familiar features several new onesthat made the courthouse an architectural innovation in its own right. When it was completed in 1800, the Fairfax County Courthouse was thefirst example of a new design which architectural historians havecalled "the town hall style, "[148] and have traced to English townhalls of the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Like theFairfax County Courthouse, these town halls were two-story brick orstone buildings which presented to their front a gable-end, ground-floor arcade (or piazza) covering the main opening onto thestreet, an entrance set into the end wall, and, frequently, a cupola. The town halls of Blandford in Dorset (1734), and Amersham inBuckinghamshire (1682) illustrate these features with variations ofdetails. No documentary evidence has been found to show how James Wren evolvedhis design for the Fairfax County Courthouse; but it seems probablethat he knew of this style that was enjoying current popularity inEngland, and that John Bogue, the "undertaker" who built thecourthouse, was familiar with the methods of constructing suchbuildings, for Bogue had just come to America from England in 1795. While the similarity of geometric and structural exterior designstrongly suggests that the Fairfax County Courthouse had itsarchitectural ancestry in the English town halls of that period, theanalogy is weaker when functions are compared. The courthouse forFairfax County was designed and used entirely as the seat of localgovernment. The commercial activity that was attracted to thecourthouse site on "court days" enjoyed no special privileges orfacilities in the building. In contrast, town halls in eighteenthcentury England often served the dual purpose of providing afacility for transaction of public business and carrying on thecommerce of the community. The style of the English town hallsprovided space in the open arcade of the ground floor to house afarmers' and tradesmen's market, and space in the second floor chamberfor the town council to meet and do its work. [149] The origin of this type of building is not entirely clear. It isdifficult to imagine it growing naturally in the political and socialclimate of the villages which grew up clustered around England'smedieval castles and monasteries. At the time when town-and-markethalls were common in the central squares of free towns in Italy, Germany and the Low Countries, they were absent in England. Theirappearance in England dates from the seventeenth century when towngovernment developed its own identity, and when British political andcultural alliances with the Dutch were established. [150] Imported to Virginia as a form of courthouse building, this town hallstyle became a popular prototype for buildings erected in severalcounties during the first three decades of the nineteenth century. After being introduced in Fairfax County in 1800, this style appearsin the Nelson County Courthouse built in 1807, the Caroline CountyCourthouse built in 1808, the Sussex County Courthouse built 1825-28, and the Madison County Courthouse built 1829-30. Variations in thelayout of the interior appeared in the use of the space over thearcade; sometimes it was used for the jury room, and at other times itwas used to accommodate a balcony for spectators. [151] After 1824, however, a new style of courthouse building may be seen in the publicbuildings of Virginia counties. Based on the neo-classical lines ofthe State Capitol, designed by Thomas Jefferson, there came into beinga series of courthouses which were suggestive, if not actual, representations of the seat of state government. [152] _The Courthouse. _ In its exterior appearance the Fairfax CountyCourthouse underwent little change during the first century of itsservice. Indeed, looking at the courthouse square in 1900, it mighthave seemed that the courthouse was the only building that had notbeen rebuilt, relocated or significantly expanded. The effects ofpassing time were more evident in the evolution of the layout andfurnishings of the court. Throughout the first half of the nineteenth century the interior ofthe courthouse probably remained similar to the layout described incolonial times. Generally the focal point of the court chamber was along table at which the County Court was seated, flanked by smallertables where the court's clerks did their work. Customarily, also, arailing across the room separated this space from visitors whosebusiness or curiosity led them to crowd in upon the court and itsstaff. As long as the gentlemen justices of the court were in reality, as well as name, the governing authority of the County, thisarrangement of the courthouse chamber was the most sensible that couldbe suggested. As the purely judicial duties were isolated and assigned to theprofessional judges of the District Court it became customary torenovate the court rooms to install the features which have becomeassociated with litigation--the raised bench of the judge, the jurybox, the witness stand, and counsels' tables. These changing ideas of what a court chamber should look like becameestablished during the first half of the nineteenth century, and werereflected in the courthouses built in Virginia during that period. Therefore, when the Fairfax County Courthouse was restored to serviceafter the Civil War, its interior design resembled that which wascustomary for judicial chambers. [153] That the task of renovation and restoration was extensive is indicatedby a report in the _Alexandria Gazette_ of October 17, 1862 statingthat "The interior of the courthouse of Fairfax County has beenentirely destroyed. Nothing remains of the building but the walls andthe roof. " Moreover, the work of renovation had to be carried outunder the double difficulty of shortages of funds and labor that wasskilled in cabinetmaking and metalworking. In the end, the restorationof the courthouse was a gradual process in which first one and thenanother improvement was added. No grand design seems to have beenfollowed or a complete record of accomplishments maintained. Hence, evidence of the courthouse furnishings is seen in such separatenotations in the Court Minute Books as follow: October Court, 1866. Ordered that the Com. Of Public Buildings be instructed to purchase enough green-baise to cover the table in the bar And have it covered before the Circuit Court commenses. [154] December 11, 1876. Ordered that the Com'r of Public Buildings have the sawdust removed from the floor of the Courtroom, and have said floor covered with a substantial cocoa matting at the expense of the Court. [155] December Court, 1882. . . . Some person or persons have entered the Court House Building in the night, without authority and have damaged Said building and have greatly annoyed the citizens living nearby by violently ringing the bell. It is therefore ordered by the Court, that such trespass . . . Will be punished to the full extent of the law. [156] The bell referred to by the Court was a standard feature of manyVirginia courthouses, and was rung to announce the convening of courtsessions. In the Fairfax County Courthouse, the bell was hung in acupola on the roof, and rung with a bell-pull passing through thebuilding's attic to the balcony level of the courtroom. [157] A major change in the appearance of the courtroom occurred with theinstallation of wooden benches in the public section of the chamber. Tradition holds that the benches had been pews at one time inJerusalem Baptist Church located on the Ox Road between Fairfax andFairfax Station. This church had been built on the site of the oldcolonial "Payne's Church. " Illustrating the period when gaslights replaced candles, an elaboratebrass chandelier fitted for gas illumination has been found in thecourthouse attic. It is possibly the fixture which the sheriff wasdirected at the February 1890 court to purchase, for a price not toexceed $25. 00. In about 1902, electric lights were installed. [158] During the restoration of the courthouse following the Civil War onemajor alteration of the exterior appearance of the courthouse occurredwhen the brickwork between the windows on the first and second floorswas removed to change the windows into single two-story-long verticalopenings. The courthouse windows remained this way until 1968 whenrenovation of the original section of the courthouse was carried out, and double rows were reestablished as they appeared in photographstaken during the Civil War. [Illustration: The old courthouse, 1800, prior to restoration in1967. ] [Illustration: The old courthouse after restoration in 1967. ] Reportedly, another major refurbishment of the courtroom occurredabout 1920. In keeping with the style of that time, the emphasis wason panelling with dark, polished woods, and moderately ornamentalcarving which achieved an appearance of massiveness and dignity. Thejudge's bench was located at the west end of the courtroom on a raisedplatform and behind a heavy wooden balustrade. Against the west wallof the room and behind the judge's bench, wooden panelling covered thespace from the southwest corner of the room to a doorway beside thebench which led into smaller chambers in the rear. This panelling wastopped with a swan's neck pediment behind the judge's chair. At floorlevel, beside the judge's bench and behind the balustrade, were thewitness stand and clerk's desk. The jury box was located along the south wall of the room and faced anenclosure where tables for counsel and reporters were placed. These, in turn, were separated from the public seats by a carved woodenbalustrade. Seating for the public on the ground floor was provided intwo sections of wooden benches--the former church pews referred toearlier--separated by a center aisle. At the rear of this section wasanother balustrade setting it apart from the open space inside thedoor to the entrance arcade. The two fireplaces in the corners of theeast end of the room were bricked-in and covered with plaster. On the south wall, a stairway provided access to the balcony over theopen portion of the room adjacent to the outer entrance. From the rearof the balcony were doorways into a jury room and small office whichoccupied the second-floor space over the entrance arcade. Three rowsof benches, each raised one step above the one in front, providedadditional seating space for visitors in the balcony. The ceiling ofthe courtroom was sheet metal (tin) with a pattern of ridges arrangedin rectangular shapes. Central heating was provided by hot waterradiators. In 1929, an addition was constructed on the south side at the rear ofthe original courthouse, making an L-shaped building. In this processthe clerk's office which was built in 1876 was torn down. Harmony ofscale, materials and style were maintained between the old and newsections. [159] [Illustration: The old court room prior to restoration. Photo by LeeHubbard, 1966. ] Twenty years later, in 1951-56, the courthouse again was expanded byaddition of a center block, and another wing identical with theoriginal and first addition segments. At the rear (west side) of thesenew portions, two wings were added to house, respectively, the recordsof the clerk's office and a new, larger jail. With the completion ofthis construction, the old courtroom in the original wing of thebuilding ceased to be used regularly for judicial business. Two largecourtrooms and several smaller chambers in the center block of thebuilding provided facilities for hearing cases. The new and largerbuilding also provided space for the offices of the County's electedofficials and most of the major boards, commissions and administrativedepartments which comprised the county's government in the1950's. [160] In both exterior and interior appearance, the courthouse additions of1931 and 1954 were designed to harmonize with the original style JamesWren established in 1800. The use of brick, gable-end roof lines, proportioning of the scale of various segments of the building, compatible fenestration and colonial period styles in hardware andpainting all contributed to this result. Most influential of all inmaintaining this architectural integrity, perhaps, was the use ofarchways and open arcades at the entrances to the center block and twowings. These open arcades, with their simple, undecorated keystonearches are the distinguishing features of the Fairfax CountyCourthouse in the 1970's as they were in 1800. [Illustration: The central entrance to the 1954 addition to thecourthouse. ] NOTES--2. THE COURT HOUSE [139] William O'Neal, _Architecture in Virginia_, (New York: Walker, 1968), p. 17, remarks that "Traditionally, in Virginia buildingshousing civil government have been developed beyond the utilitarian. This tradition, of course, has given us not only a remarkable group ofeighteenth and nineteenth century courthouses, but, just yesterday, the very beautiful City Hall complex of Norfolk by Vincent King. " [140] _University of Virginia Newsletter_, (Charlottesville: Instituteof Government, University of Virginia), XLIII, No. 11, (July 15, 1967). [141] A summary of these references is contained in Melvin Steadman, _Falls Church by Fence and Fireside_, (Falls Church, Va. : Falls ChurchPublic Library, 1964), pp. 463-520. [142] O'Neal, _Virginia Architecture_, pp. 127, 133, 143, _Minutes ofthe Vestry, Truro Parish, Virginia_, 1732-1785, (Lorton, Va. : PohickChurch, 1974), p. 114. [143] Steadman, _Falls Church_, p. 471. [144] The genealogy and a summary history of the Wren family, both inEngland and America, is in Steadman, _Falls Church_, pp. 463-520. [145] Janice Artemel, "James Wren, Gentleman Joiner, " (unpublishedmanuscript, Falls Church, Va. , 1976). [146] According to Sir Banister Fletcher, _A History of Architecture_, Rev. Ed. , (New York: Scribners, 1963), p. 1126, "In general, thearchitecture of a particular area mirrored that of the homeland of thecolonizers or settlers of that area, with modifications occasioned byclimate, the types of building material obtainable, and the quality oflabour available. Thus, in seventeenth century New England buildingfollowed the pattern of English weather-boarded heavy timber-frameprototypes, while in eighteenth century Virginia we find a 'Georgian'architecture often almost indistinguishable from that of eighteenthcentury England. " [147] Carl Feiss, "Court Houses of Virginia, " lecture delivered at themeeting of the Latrobe (Washington) Chapter, Society of ArchitecturalHistorians, held at the Arts Club of Washington, November 8, 1968. [148] Marcus Whiffen, "The Early Courthouses of Virginia, " _Journal ofthe Society of Architectural Historians_, XVIII, No. 1 (March 1959), pp. 2, 5-6. [149] Thus the term "market hall" is sometimes also used to designatethese buildings. At times, the market activities may even overshadowthe building's associations with government, as in the case ofBlandford, Dorset, where a sign on the building identifies it as theCorn Exchange, without mention of the Council's chamber. [150] Sir Kenneth Clark, in his book, _Civilisation_. (New York:Harper & Row, 1969), pp. 194-220, describes the impact of Dutchaccomplishments in the arts, and the impact of their influence on suchEnglishmen as Christopher Wren. The adoption of the Dutch style of market hall in England may wellhave been a gradual one, utilizing the already familiar design of thehouse of a typical town tradesman, which presented to the street aseries of arched openings where work was done and wares were displayedduring the day. At night these arches were shuttered, and thetradesman had his living quarters on the second floor over his shop. Sir Banister Fletcher, _A History of Architecture_, (New York:Scribners, 1961), p. 463. [151] Whiffen, "Early Courthouses, " p. 6. [152] William O'Neal, _Architecture in Virginia_, (New York: Walker, 1968), pp. 22-25. [153] Whiffen, "Early Courthouses, " p. 3. [154] Fairfax County Court Minute Book, 1863-1867, p. 484. [155] Fairfax County Court Minute Book, 1875-1879, p. 162. [156] Fairfax County Court Minute Book, 1882-1885, p. 34. [157] Examination of the courthouse attic in July 1967 revealed abell, complete with mounting and wheel, with the followinginscription: "TW & RC SMITH ALEXANDRIA 1844. " It has not beendetermined when this bell was installed in or removed from the cupola. It was rehung in the cupola and rung again in 1976. [158] Examination of the courthouse attic in July 1967 revealed abrass chandelier with six arms, approximately 24 inches long, fixed toa central hub. Burners at the end of each arm were fitted to holdglass globes or lamp chimneys. Fairfax County Court Minute Book, 1888-1892, p. 216. The end of the gaslight era occurred shortly after1900, when, according to Thomas Chapman, former Clerk of CircuitCourt, electric lights were installed in the clerk's office in 1902and shortly thereafter in the courtroom. [159] Interview with Thomas Chapman, former Clerk of Circuit Court. [160] Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Minute Books, No. 17, p. 4, November 21, 1949; No. 18, pp. 2-9, November 15, 1950, pp. 296-298, May 22, 1951. 3. RESTORATION OF THE ORIGINAL WING OF THE COURTHOUSE, 1967 _Origin of the Restoration Project. _ After the second addition to thecourthouse was completed in 1954, the old courtroom in the originalwing of the building ceased to be the focal point of the court'sactivity. Similarly, it ceased to receive the attention needed to dealwith the natural deterioration produced by use and the passage oftime. By the early 1960's these effects were evidenced by leakingroofs, unreliable plumbing in the heating system, cracked andcrumbling plaster, loosened floors and hardware, and the like. Inorder to retain its usefulness, the original wing of the courthouseneeded substantial renovation. At this time, an interest in the old courtroom was expressed by theFairfax County Bar Association and the county's newly formedHistorical Landmarks Preservation Commission which together proposedthat the work of renovation be done in such a way as to restore theoriginal appearance of the courtroom. The Bar Association formed aSpecial Committee for Restoration of the Old Court Room under thechairmanship of C. Douglas Adams, Jr. , and the assistance of the Boardof Supervisors was sought. [161] In December 1964, the Board appropriated funds for developing arestoration plan. Walter Macomber, a local restoration architect whohad done similar work on a number of early Virginia landmarks, wasretained to prepare the necessary plans. In March 1966, the BarAssociation's Committee reported the completion of this preliminarywork to the Board, and successfully secured the latter's approvaltogether with an appropriation of $90, 000 for actual constructionwork. This work was commenced without further delay and was completedin the spring of 1967. [162] _Problems of the Restoration. _ While the work undertaken in 1965 and1966 was at the time referred to as a restoration, it was in factimpossible under the circumstances to reproduce with complete accuracythe appearance of the courthouse in 1800. No descriptions of thecourtroom or other records of building specifications had been found;nor was any special research in eighteenth century sources undertakenfor this purpose. As a result, the work produced a courtroom withidealized colonial-period interior design and furnishings in abuilding shell with reconstructed floor plan and structural design ofthe early Federal-period (during which it had initially been built). Numerous difficult problems were faced in this reconstruction, and, for the most part, they were resolved in ways that served primarily tocreate a room with the atmosphere of Virginia's colonial period, andsecondarily to build an authentic replica of the Fairfax courthouse asof any particular historical date. [Illustration: FLOOR PLANS. ] An initial problem connected with the exterior alterations was that ofsecuring bricks and mortar to match those of the original courthouse. Bricks secured from a manufacturer of specialty bricks turned out tobe a close match for the originals which were thought to have beenfired from clay dug in Fairfax County. [164] Specially mixed mortarmade from sand, lime and white cement also closely simulated the colorand texture of the older mortar. Bricks were laid in Flemish bondwhich matched the courthouse and part of the old jail building. Using these new materials, broken and crumbling bricks were replacedthroughout the building, and the three long windows on both the northand south sides of the courthouse were altered to form two rows ofsmaller windows, with the space between the first and second-floorrows filled with new brickwork. This change in the fenestrationrestored the building to its appearance as shown in Civil Warphotographs of the courthouse. Shutters similar to those shown in thesame pictures were added to the windows on both floors. On the roof, some repairs were needed to restore the slate shingles. In the cupola, wooden louvres were repaired, the cupola was painted, and a weathervane restored to the top. An existing galvanized sheetmetal roof was allowed to remain unchanged. For the inside of the building there were no photographs or drawingsof the earlier periods, and reconstruction was influenced largely byphysical evidence disclosed as the interior was systematicallydismantled down to the building's outer shell. When woodwork, hardware, plaster and flooring were removed, it was found that much ofthe framing timber was infested by termites, and had to be replaced. In this process numerous signs of earlier workmanship were revealed. Beneath the existing tin-plate ceiling was a plastered ceiling andremnants of a painted frieze of red, yellow, blue and green. Behindthis ceiling were laths laid over hand-hewn oak rafters. A few of theoriginal hand-split laths and hand-made nails remained in thisceiling. In its reconstruction, the ceiling was furred and replasteredwithout any decoration. No lathwork was found on the side walls, andin the reconstruction fresh plaster was applied directly to thebricks. [165] [Illustration: Interior of the gutted courthouse during restoration in1966. Photo by Lee Hubbard. ] The flooring which was removed from the central section of thecourtroom sloped from the back (east end) of the room toward thejudge's bench (at the west end). Beneath this floor was an older floorof brick. It was not determined whether this brick work had been theoriginal floor of the courtroom or whether another wooden floor hadoverlaid it prior to the one just removed. In its reconstruction, however, the architect specified that a flat floor of polished pineshould be laid over the bricks. [166] In one part of the main floor the older brick work was allowed toremain exposed. This was in the vicinity of the fireplaces in the twocorners of the open area at the rear (east end) of the courtroom. These two fireplaces were reopened and restored and their brickworkwas extended to form spacious hearthstones. The corner fireplaces showed signs of a three-stage evolution. Theywere originally used as open fireplaces. Holes in the brickwork abovethem suggested, however, that at some later time the open fireplaceswere replaced by wood-burning or coal-burning stoves standing on thebrick hearths with their stovepipes fitted into the chimneys. Finally, when the stoves were replaced by central heating and hot waterradiators, the entire fireplace wall was sealed with brick andplastered over. In their restoration the corner fireplaces werereopened and refurbished as they were thought to have appeared intheir original condition. As the side walls were cleared of plaster, they showed signs ofstaircases from the ground level the balcony along the north as wellas the south side of the courtroom. Thus when the stairs along thesouth wall were replaced, a similar set of stairs was built andinstalled on the north side of the courtroom. No dates for theoriginal installation or removal of these staircases were determined, and it was presumed that the dual staircases were part of the originaldesign of the courthouse. A more difficult puzzle was presented by a series of holes in theouter wall aligned at the level of the balcony and about the size usedfor beams. Speculation by the architect suggested that these holesmight have been intended for use in extending the balcony along threesides of the courtroom instead of merely along the back end, or incovering the entire room and creating a full second story for thecourthouse. No determination of their use was made, and they weredisregarded in the reconstruction of the courtroom. [Illustration: Interior of restored courtroom facing the judges'bench. Photo by Charles Baptie, 1971. ] [Illustration: Interior of restored courtroom facing balcony. Photo byLee Hubbard, 1969. ] Still another mystery which was not solved in the restorationconcerned the two chimneys located in the corners at the west end ofthe old courtroom. No fireplaces or hearthstones were found in thecourtroom floor, and when the interior was dismantled it wasdiscovered that the chimneys rested on beams above the courtroomceiling. These chimneys were not utilized in reconstructing thecourtroom, and the only suggestion offered was that they probably hadbeen connected by long pipes to stoves in the room below. [167] Two doors in the west wall of the courtroom on either side of thejudge's bench presented a further problem since they were not part ofthe original 1800 building, but had been part of the addition built in1929. One of these doors led into a set of judge's chambers and theother (in one corner) opened into a corridor leading to the mainportion of the addition running south from the old courthouse. In therestoration these doors were retained, but fitted inconspicuously intothe panelling behind the judge's bench. Above the doors, the architectrestored two windows which he felt had been part of the originalbuilding. [168] Restoration of the judge's bench brought still more difficulties tomaintaining the original design of the courtroom. As plaster wasremoved from the wall behind the judge's bench, the bricks showedmarks of an arch. The judge's bench which ultimately was constructedand installed at the west end of the courtroom was, like the otherwoodwork, created by the architect "according to patterns used incolonial times. "[169] Other details of the interior were handled the same way. Hardware usedby the architect was all new, but used old designs. Since the originalcolors used in the interior were not determined, the architect usedwhite and gray shades of paint similar to those in colonial buildings. From the ceiling in the center of the courtroom were hung chandeliersfound in the courthouse attic. While not of "colonial" design, theywere used because they were considered appropriate due to formerassociation with the courthouse. And, as noted earlier, the pewswhich possibly had been obtained from the Jerusalem Baptist Churchwere retained in the restored courtroom. [170] _General Setting and Building Site. _ The original Fairfax Countycourthouse today comprises the north end section of the courthousebuilding. Together with its immediately adjacent grounds, the presentcourthouse complex occupies almost the entire four-acre tract whichwas the original site. This tract still forms a square near the centerof the City of Fairfax, at the intersections of two main roads, Routes236 (Little River Turnpike) and 123 (Chain Bridge Road). The generalsetting is gently rolling terrain, and the courthouse site is on aslightly higher elevation than the surrounding area, with stoneretaining walls on the two sides facing the turnpike and road. On thewest side of the courthouse building is a parking lot occupyingapproximately two acres. The twelve-story county office building(Massey Building) completed in 1969 is located approximately 200 yardssouth and west of the courthouse. _The Exterior_ _Overall Dimensions. _ The restored, original courthouse building is aplain rectangle, 61 feet long by 32 feet wide. It is oriented with thelong sides facing north and south, with the main entrance at the eastend of the building. A portico extends across the entire east end ofthe building, covering an area 12 by 32 feet. The height of thebuilding at the gable ends is 32 feet; and the height of the eavesfrom the ground is 21 feet. _Foundations. _ As originally built, the courthouse rested on brickfoundation walls, anchored at the corners in brick piers, with a crawlspace of approximately 1-1/2 to 2 feet in height beneath all but thefront (east) quarter of the floor space. Additional brick bases, approximately 18 inches square and resting on the ground, were locatedin the crawl space beneath the two columns supporting the courthousebalcony. In the late nineteenth century, a partial basement was dugbeneath the central section of the courtroom. [171] As reconstructed, the exterior foundation walls were pointed up andrepaired, and were strengthened by the addition of several newfootings. Across the back (west end) of the building, the crawl spacewas deepened to a uniform 3 feet, and four 12 × 12 inch brick pierswere placed on concrete footings. In the center section of thecourthouse, the basement walls were extended 1 foot to carry thejoists of the new floor, the outside entrance was closed up, and a newstaircase for the interior entrance was built at the south end of thebasement. Next to the basement toward the front (east end) of thebuilding, another crawl space (measuring 8-1/2 × 25-1/2 feet) wasdeepened to a uniform 3 feet, and a new wall was built on the eastside, extending the full width of the building. This new wall was 8inches thick, and constructed of cinder block and brick, anchored with16 × 16 × 12 inch concrete footings. Beneath both crawl spaces and thebasement a 3-inch thick concrete slab was laid. The crawl space didnot extend to the front exterior wall of the building. A space of 13 ×30 feet across the front of the building, consisting of the areabeneath the open entrance foyer of the courtroom, originally had beencovered only by a layer of bricks resting on the bare ground. Asreconstructed, this brick was taken up and re-laid on a 4-inch thickslab of concrete which had been poured on a base of 4 inches ofcrushed stone covered by polyethylene film. _Walls. _ The exterior walls of the courthouse are constructed of redbrick, with new bricks specially selected during the 1967 restorationto match the remaining original materials, and laid in Flemish bond, 1-1/2 feet thick. Across the front of the building, the portico isentered through a series of arches supporting the second-floor frontsection of the building. The three arches across the front of thebuilding are 7 feet wide and 11 feet high at the center of the arch. The arches at the north and south ends of the portico are 6-1/2 feetwide by 11 feet high. The brick columns supporting the arches are1-1/2 feet square. The arches and columns are plain except for whitemarble keystones and white marble slabs, 6 inches thick, placed at thefoot of each arch and serving as bases for the columns. _Chimneys. _ All five of the chimneys which the courthouse had in theearly nineteenth century were retained in the reconstruction. The twochimneys on each of the north and south sides stand at points whichcorrespond to the four corners of the courtroom, and rise 11-1/2 feetabove the roofline at the eaves. In the center of the table end at thefront of the building, the fifth chimney stands, extending 5 feetabove the ridge of the roof. All five chimneys are corbelled with twocourses of brick at the top, and with a single course of brick 1-1/2feet below the chimney top. All of the chimneys measure 2 feet by 1foot 9 inches. _Doors and Windows. _ In the 1967 reconstruction of the courthouse, thefenestration was changed to resemble the appearance of the building inabout 1861. Accordingly the three tall (14-1/2 foot) existing windowson the north and south sides of the building were converted into twosets of smaller windows, one above the other, and regularly spacedalong the sides of the courtroom. In the upper row, a fourth windowwas located over the arch in the portico, and serves the rooms in thesecond-floor chamber at the front of the building. The chamber alsohas two windows on the front of the building. The upper row windows are of a double-hung sash design, with 12 over 8panes (9 inches × 10-3/4 inches) set in wooden frames and sills. Overall dimensions of these windows are 4 × 5-1/2 feet. The threewindows on the lower level are slightly larger--4 feet × 6 feet 9inches, and have 12 over 12 panes. Both rows of windows are shuttered;those of the upper row are louvred, and those in the lower row havesolid panels. [172] On the ground level at the front of the building, the main doorway ofthe courthouse is located in the center of the wall, and flanked byone window on each side. The door is panelled, and 8-1/2 × 4-1/2 feetin size. In the reconstruction, new window sashes and a new door wereinstalled, but the existing jambs were used wherever possible. Allshutters, glazing materials and hardware used in the reconstructionwere new. _Roof. _ The original roof of the courthouse was covered with slateshingles, and the reconstruction of the building merely appliedrepairs to these shingles as needed. Little of the slate whichremained in 1967 was thought to have dated from the originalconstruction, however, because of the extensive repairs andrenovations carried out after the Civil War. _Cupola. _ The cupola, located at the ridge of the roof, 9-1/2 feetfrom the gable end at the front, was part of the original design ofthe courthouse and houses a bell once used to announce the conveningof the court sessions. The cupola was constructed of white pine, andconsists of a square box in which is mounted an octagonal compartmentwith louvred sides. Topping the panelled portion of the cupola is anonion-shaped dome, culminating in a ball which, according tophotographs over the years, served as a base for a weathervane orflagpole. In reconstruction, a weathervane found in the courthouseattic was installed on the cupola's top. The roofing of the cupoladome is sheet metal. _Ornamentation. _ The overall appearance of the courthouse is plain, and, with the possible exception of the cupola, there is only onefeature which shows the intention to combine ornamentation withfunctionalism in the architectural design. This feature is a round"fan window" framed by a circle of bricks in the center of the gableend of the building's front wall. The lower half of this windowconsists of four pie-shaped wooden panels. The upper half of thewindow consists of louvres. _The Interior_ _Foyer. _ The double doors in the center of the portico at the east endof the courthouse open inward into a foyer at the rear of thecourtroom. This area is 29 feet long, the full width of the building. The width of the area varies, however, because of the fireplacesacross each of the front corners and the curving rear edge of thecentral (or spectator) portion of the courtroom. At its narrowestpoint in front of the double doors the foyer is 10 feet 4 inches wide, and at its widest points on either end of the room, it is 12 feetwide. The foyer space is entirely open, with flooring composed ofbricks (8 × 3-1/2 inches) varying in color from deep red to charcoalgray. These bricks are laid with three-quarter inch seams and whitemortar. The fireplaces in the corners at each end of the foyer have square (2foot-8 inch) openings, with brick lining and a 5 inch facingsurrounding the opening and painted flat black. The fireplaces areentirely framed with plain architraves and friezes, and are toppedwith simple mantels. Each fireplace measures 3 feet 11 inches wide by4 feet 3 inches high. Along the walls of the foyer, panelled wainscotting, painted white, isinstalled. Because of the unevenness of the floor, the height of thiswainscotting varies from 4 feet 2 inches to 4 feet 3 inches. Itspanels are of varying width, from 3 to 6 inches, and are beaded. Atthe base of the wainscotting is a 5-inch baseboard. Above the wainscotting, the walls and ceiling are finished in plainplaster with walls painted mauve and the ceiling white. Lightingneeds are minimal because of four outside windows located in thefoyer, and because of light received from the central section of thecourtroom. On each side of the double door and at each end of thefoyer lanterns are mounted on the wall. These fixtures are of the typecommonly used as carriage gate or guardhouse lanterns, and are 9 ×6-1/2 × 5 inches, with glass panels on three sides set in dark metalframes. The tops are of curved metal designed to shield the lanternsfrom the wind. Inside the lanterns, light comes from a singlecandle-shaped light bulb, set inside a small hurricane lamp chimney. The hardware on the double door consists of a box lock with the brassknob polished and the lock-box and keeper painted flat black. At thetop and bottom of the door black metal shot bolts of designs commonlyfound in eighteenth century buildings are installed. _Central Section. _ Space for the seating of spectators is provided inthe central section of the courtroom. The floor level of this sectionis raised 7-3/4 inches above the floor of the foyer, and free-standingwainscotting of the same style and height as are around the foyerwalls separate the foyer from the central section. The floor of thissection is constructed of 5-1/4 inch dark-stained pine boards. Entry into this section is along two aisles at the sides, runningbetween the spectator seats in the center of the room and the balconystaircases set against the walls on the north and south sides of theroom. Spectator seating is provided in five rows of benches of pine, with natural finish on the seats and back rests, white painted sidesand bases, and natural cherry moldings along the top of the back restsand arms. Along the base at the front of each bench, is a 6 inch strippainted black. The back of the back rest is painted white down to apoint 6 inches above the floor, where a foot rest of dark-stained pineis installed, and below this the base is painted black. The five rows of benches in the center section are curved, generallyfollowing the arc of the edge of the raised flooring, and measure 17feet 9 inches from end to end. Each bench seats about twelve people. The walls of the center section are painted mauve, and the ceiling iswhite. There are no lighting fixtures in this section of thecourtroom. At the rear of the central section, two lightly stainedsolid oak pillars support the balcony. _Staircases. _ Staircases to the balcony are located along the northand south walls of the central section. The initial plans forreconstruction of the courtroom in 1967 called for only one staircase, on the south wall. The decision to add a staircase on the north sidecame during the reconstruction when evidence of an earlier staircaseon that side was revealed as the plaster was removed. From this it wasconjectured that the courthouse of the early nineteenth century hadhad two staircases, but that one had been abandoned in reconstructingthe building after the Civil War. The present stairways each have 18 steps with 8 inch risers and treads2 feet 11 inches wide by 10 inches deep. They form a single flight, open style stairs, with no brackets and plain balusters, 1 inchsquare, painted white and supporting a cherry handrail. Newel posts atthe top and foot of the stairway have turned shafts with cube basesand capitals. A flat sphere of solid wood tops the capital of thenewel post. Beneath the staircase on the north side of the building is a closet, and on the south side is a stairway leading into the basement. Thedoors to this closet and stairway are made of vertical beaded boardssimilar to the wainscotting, each equipped with two "H" hinges ofblack metal having a pebble finish and black metal box locks withsmall polished brass doorknobs. _Balcony. _ The courtroom balcony contains three rows of wooden benchessimilar to those on the ground floor, except that they are straightinstead of curved. The rows are arranged so the two rear benches areon daises raised 9 inches above the one in front. Solid-panelledfree-standing wainscotting is set along the back of the rearmostbench. The first two rows of benches are 17 feet 7-3/4 inches long, while the rear bench is 22 feet long, allowing space at each end forthe steps of the raised dais. In front of these benches, across the full width of the balconybetween the two staircases, is a railing of plain white spokes(matching the balusters of the staircase) and a plain cherry handrail2 feet 11 inches in height. The ceiling of the balcony is painted flat white and the walls aremauve. White beaded board wainscotting standing 3 inches high isaround the sides and rear wall of the balcony similar to that on theground level. Three recessed lights provide light for the balcony. _Jury Room. _ At the rear of the balcony an aisle 3 feet wide runs thefull width of the building, allowing passage behind the rows ofbalcony benches and access to the jury room through doors near eachend of the aisle. The jury room uses the space above the first-floorportico, an area 12 × 19 feet. The doors to the room are 2 feet 10inches by 6 feet 10 inches, with 4 panels. Doors and frames arepainted white, with brass doorknobs and modern locks set in the doors. The wall between the jury room and balcony is a new stud partitionwhich is finished with white plaster, as is the ceiling. Lighting isprovided by 3 recessed lights set in the ceiling and equally spaced. The walls of the room have a 3-inch baseboard, but no wainscotting. Centered in the exterior (east) wall of the room is a fireplace, reopened in the 1967 reconstruction. This fireplace measures 4 feet6-1/2 inches by 4 feet 7-3/4 inches, and is framed with a plain whitearchitrave and mantel. A hearth of brick extends 18 inches out fromthe fireplace. Opposite the fireplace is a 12 by 18 inch plasteredmasonry pier extended up from the exterior wall at the rear of theportico on the first floor below. In the ceiling next to the pier islocated a 30 by 36 inch opening into the attic, with a ladder builtinto the partition wall immediately below. _Bench, Bar and Jury Box. _ Across the front of the courtroom is arailing separating the judges bench, jury box, and space for counseltables from the central section of the courtroom. This railing, similar to those of the staircases and balcony, stands 2 feet 8-1/2inches high. Gates 3 feet wide and mounted on double spring hinges areplaced in the railing at the head of each side aisle in the centralsection. Each gate has an S-curve wooden support built into it foradded support. The enclosure formed by the railing or bar is raised 7-1/2 inchesabove the floor level of the central section, and is floored withyellow pine, tongue-and-groove, 3-inch wide flooring. In the center ofthis enclosure, against the west wall of the courtroom is the judge'sbench, flanked on its right by the witness stand. The bench itself isrelatively small, measuring 6 feet 5 inches across and 4 feet 7 inchesfrom back to front. Three steps on each side permit access from bothdirections, and have balustrades on the front side similar to therailings and other balustrades in the courtroom. On the wall behind the judge's bench, there are two, high 12-over-8pane windows, backed by closed, full-louvred shutters. Behind theshutters is the solid plaster wall of the present courthouse's maincorridor. Between and below these windows is a wooden raised-panelscreen serving as a back for the judge's bench. Two 6-panelledsections at each end of this screen are flanked by fluted pilasterswith modified capitals supporting a plain entablature. Between thesesections are 3 panels, the two on either end being composed of 3 tiersof panels edged with fluted pilasters. The center element of thispanel consists of two large raised rectangular panels topped by asemi-circular louvred wooden fan design, then a round keystone arch, the whole portion of the composition topped by a high monumentalpediment. At its center point, the height of this composition is 8feet 6 inches. This ornamental panelling also covers the space where doorwayspreviously had been cut for passage between the courtroom and otherportions of the courthouse as they were built from 1930 onward. Priorto the 1967 reconstruction, a doorway in the west wall was located onthe judge's left side as he sat on the bench. As presentlyreconstructed, this doorway has been closed and covered by panelling, but a new door was cut through on the judge's right-hand side, and theinside of the door is constructed and fitted so as to serve as the endpiece of the ornamental woodwork behind the judge's bench. The jury box is in the southwest corner of the courtroom. Across thefront of the box is a panelled solid railing, standing 2 feet 8 inchesfrom the floor of the west end of the courtroom. The jury box contains2 rows of benches, each raised an 8-inch step above the one in front. The front row is 9 feet 3 inches long, with aisles 18 inches wide ateach end allowing passage from the second row to the front, andopenings in the railing. Not having this function of access, the backrow of the jury benches is 14 feet 1 inch in length. Benches in thejury box are designed and constructed similar to those of the balcony. The witness box is located between the judge's bench and the jury box. This box is constructed of solid wooden screen, painted white andtopped with a cherry handrail. The screen forming the back of the boxis plain; the screen at the front is in the shape of half of anoctagon, and the face of each element contains a single recessedpanel similar to those on the front of the judge's bench. The side ofthe witness box facing the jury is open to allow entry into the box, and the side next to the judge's bench is formed by the side of thatfixture. The flooring of the box is made of 3-inch wide, yellow pineboards, finished naturally, and the flooring is raised one step (7-1/2inches) from the courtroom floor. The dimensions of the box are 2 feet10 inches across and 3 feet 8 inches from back to front. Illumination of the area of the bench and jury box is provided by avariety of fixtures. On the wall at the rear of the jury box twocarriage gate or guardhouse lanterns are attached. Opposite these, onthe wall at the north side of the room, two other, similar lanternsare located. In the ceiling above the area enclosed by the bar, 10recessed lights are installed in two rows of 4 lights across the frontand rear sections, and a pair are located equidistant between theserows. Hanging from the ceiling over the central area are chandelierswhich were found in the attic of the courthouse during the 1967reconstruction, and refurbished and wired for electric lights. Thelighting fixtures consist of six 24-inch arms, made of hollow brasstubing, extending out from a central hub. The hub, in the shape of acup and decorated with a series of radial ridges, is on the lower endof a 38-inch hollow brass shaft, equipped at the top with a hook forsuspension from the ceiling. As installed in the courthouse, eachchandelier hangs from a fixture in the ceiling by a metal chainapproximately 5 feet long. At the end of each arm of the chandelierare plain disc-shaped bases (3 inches in diameter) which holds onecandle-shaped electric socket and a glass hurricane lamp chimney. _Basement. _ A small basement measuring 11 feet in width lies acrossthe center section of the courthouse. An interior entrance to thisbasement is provided by a staircase located at its south end. Thisstairway, 3 feet 6 inches wide with 7-3/4 inch risers, has 10 steps, and is not panelled or painted. At the present time, the basement isused to house heating and air conditioning equipment. Small windows are located at both the north and south ends of thebasement. Approximately square, these windows measure 2 feet 2 inchesby 2 feet 9 inches, with 3-over-2 panes (6 by 12 inches). Both havesills composed of a single slab of stone 2 inches thick. Both also arebelow ground level, and open into brick-lined spaces for light and airdug out by the wall's foundations. The space for the window on thenorth side of the building measures 4 feet 1 inch by 3 feet 3 inches. On the south side of the building, however, the dug-out space measures7 feet 8 inches by 2 feet 9 inches and suggests that this was, at anearlier date, the point where an outside entrance to the basement waslocated. This is corroborated by markings on the inside of thebasement wall which show that a doorway in the north end of thebasement has been bricked up, and also that a second window similar tothe existing one has been closed up with bricks, leaving the sill slabin place. From the basement, galvanized steel ducts covered withinsulating material are run through the crawl spaces beneath thecourtroom floor to outlets and intakes for circulation of air. Theseopenings are located in the sills of the recessed windows of thecourtroom and in the bases of the benches for spectators and jurors, and are covered with steel grilles painted to blend with the fixturesin which they are set. 3. RESTORATION OF THE ORIGINAL WING OF THE COURTHOUSE, 1967 [161] Other members of the Special Committee were Edward D. Gasson, James Keith, John T. Hazel, Jr. ; W. Franklin Gooding, Assistant Clerkof the Courts; Senior Circuit Judge Paul E. Brown; and Bayard Evans, Chairman of the Fairfax Historical Landmarks Preservation Commission. [162] The cost of restoration was originally estimated at $74, 488, exclusive of architect's fee, which was to be 12 per cent of the totalcost. Ultimately, the cost of the work was slightly in excess of$84, 500, including the architect's fee, according to the architect'srecords; Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Minute Book #45, pp. 192, 301, 406; Cost Sheet, Walter M. Macomber. [163] The building contractor for this work was E. L. Daniels. [164] Interview with Thomas Chapman, former Clerk of the CircuitCourt. [165] The frieze was disregarded because it was not considered part ofthe original courtroom interior, and no drawings, photographs ordescriptions of it were preserved. [166] The sloping floor which was replaced was not dated, but probablywas installed when the courthouse was renovated following the CivilWar. [167] On this matter the following statement in the _Northern VirginiaSun_, January 8, 1966, 1, is of interest: "Anyone familiar with theold courthouse will have noticed that it has five chimneys. The twoclosest to the bench are resting on wood above the ceiling, Macomberdiscovered. This, he said 'confused' him. He thinks that they probablywere connected by long pipes to stoves in the courtroom. Yet he is notsure. It appears to Macomber that they were added at some later time, but he will not know until he examines them more closely during therestoration. If . . . [there] are post-1800 andirons [in thesefireplaces], out they will go in the restoration. " In an interview on March 2, 1970, however, Macomber stated he feltthat these chimneys had been connected to stoves after the fireplaceswhich they served were blocked up. [168] The architect expressed the opinion that the addition to thewest end of the courthouse dated from about 1900; _Northern VirginiaSun_, January 8, 1966, 1. However, no documentary evidence from thecounty records supports this date; _Fairfax County Free Press_, August25, 1966. [169] Transcript of interview with Walter Macomber, March 2, 1970. Asto the arch marks, Mr. Macomber said: "On the front wall I found asemi-circle deeply incised in the brick wall. I concluded there hadbeen an original arched design there and I reproduced such an arch asit might have looked based on my studies of colonial architecture. " [170] Transcript of interview with Walter Macomber, March 2, 1970, contains the following: Question: Do you know what the original color of the room was? Macomber: No. But since most of the buildings of that period were either white or light gray, I used these colors. Question: Was any of the original ironwork left? Macomber: No. The ones installed are new but made from old designs used in the colonial period. Question: Where did the old chandeliers you installed in the ceiling come from? Macomber: They were discovered in storage. They are not colonial, but since they were probably used at some time I thought it appropriate to use them. Question: Where did you get your ideas for the woodwork? Macomber: I created it according to patterns used in colonial times. The benches were brought in after the Civil War and had come from the Payne [Jerusalem] Baptist Church. I thought it appropriate to use them. [171] _Fairfax County Free Press_, August 25, 1966; The basementmeasured 11 × 25-1/2 feet and was located across the midsection of thebuilding. At the north end of the basement a stairway led to anoutside entrance, and at the south end another stairway providedinterior access. The basement was lined with 8-inch thick brick walls, and was divided into two rooms of approximately equal size connectedby a doorway 2-1/2 feet wide. [172] Prior to the reconstruction of the courthouse in 1967, theshutters at the windows on the first floor of the front of thebuilding were louvred in the top half and solid panel in the lowerhalf. In the reconstruction, these shutters were replaced usingshutters with solid panels. APPENDIX A FAIRFAX COUNTY CLERKS OF THE COURT 1742-1976 Sources: Frederick Johnston, _Memorials of Old Virginia Clerks_;Fairfax County Court Order Books. Catesby Cocke 1742-46 John Graham 1746-52 Peter Wagener 1752-72 Peter Wagener, Jr. 1772-98 George Deneale 1798-1801 William Moss 1801-33 F. D. Richardson, _pro tem_ 1833-35 Thomas Moss 1835-39 Alfred Moss, _pro tem_ Oct. -Nov. , 1839 S. M. Ball 1839-52 Alfred Moss 1852-61 Henry T. Brooks (military) 1861-65 W. B. Gooding (military) 1865-66 William M. Fitzhugh (military) 1866-67 F. D. Richardson, _pro tem_ 1866-69 D. F. Dulany (military) 1869-70 F. D. Richardson 1870-80 F. W. Richardson, _pro tem_ 1880-81 F. W. Richardson 1881-87 W. E. Graham 1887-1903 F. W. Richardson 1904-35 John M. Whalen 1936-45 Thomas P. Chapman, Jr. 1945-67 W. Franklin Gooding 1967-75 James E. Hoofnagle 1976- APPENDIX B JUSTICES AND JUDGES OF THE FAIRFAX COUNTY, CIRCUIT AND DISTRICT COURTS 1742-1976 Lists Compiled By E. Sprouse, P. Howe, V. Peters, A. Lewis, and N. Netherton. (Because of missing books and records, this listing is incomplete. ) First Commission for Fairfax County, _1742_ William Fairfax John Colvill Richard Osborne Jeremiah Bronaugh Lewis Elzey William Payne Thomas Pearson John Minor William Henry Terrett John Gregg Gerard Alexander Edward Barry Daniel Jennings Thomas Arbuthnot (_1742-1748_ Fairfax County Court Order Books are missing. ) _1749_ John Minor William H. Terrett Daniel Jennings John Carlyle William Ramsay Charles Broadwater Daniel McCarty John Colvill Moses Linton Lewis Ellzey William Payne Richard Osborn George W. Fairfax Anthony Russell Joseph Watkins George Mason Jeremiah Bronaugh Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax Chief Justice Stephen Lewis _1750_ John West Lawrence Washington Catesby Cocke _1752_ Fielding Turner _1753_ Thomas Colvill _1754_ Hugh West _1755_ John West, Jr. Sampson Turley Sampson Darrell James Hamilton Oneas Campbell _1757_ Henry Gunnell _1758_ John Hunter Robert Adam William Bronaugh William Payne, Jr. _1759_ Bryan Fairfax Townshend Dade Benjamin Grayson Edward Blackburn Lee Massey William Adams _1762_ Hector Ross _1764_ George William Fairfax William Ellzey John West George Mason Daniel McCarty John Carlyle William Ramsay Charles Broadwater Thomas Colvill dead John West, Junior Bryan Fairfax Sampson Dorrell Sher. Townshend Dade Quo: Henry Gunnell _1767_ Marmaduke Beckwith Robert Adam John Hunter dead Richard Sanford Wm. Payne Benjamin Grayson William Adams Edward Blackburn Hector Ross & Alexander Henderson Gent. George William Fairfax Lewis Ellzey John West George Mason Daniel McCarty John Carlyle Wm. Ramsay Charles Broadwater John West, Junr Bryan Fairfax Sampson Dorrell Quo: Townshend Dade Henry Gunnell Wm. Adams George Washington & Daniel French Gent: _1768_ George W Fairfax Lewis Ellzey John West George Mason Daniel McCarty John Carlyle Wm. Ramsey Charles Broadwater John West Junior Bryan Fairfax Sampson Darrel Townshend Dade Quorum Henry Gunnell Marmaduke Beckwith Robert Adam Richard Sanford Wm. Payne Benjamin Grayson dead Wm. Adams Hector Ross Alexander Henderson George Washington Daniel French & Edward Payne Gent: _1770_ John West George Mason Daniel McCarty John Carlyle William Ramsay Charles Broadwater John West Junr Bryan Fairfax Sampson Darrell Quor. Henry Gunnell Robert Adam William Payne William Adams Hector Ross Alexander Henderson George Washington and Edward Payne Gent. (_1774-1782_ Fairfax County Court Order Books are missing. ) _1783_ John Gibson George Gilpin Richard Chichester Robert McCrea Charles Little James Hendricks Josiah Watson Henry Darne Thomas Lewis Robert T. Hooe _1784_ James Wren David Stuart David Arell Charles Alexander _1785_ William Deneale John Moss _1786_ George Minor William Herbert _1787_ Roger West Richard Conway Thomas Gunnell John Fitzgerald William Brown Benjamin Dulany Thomas Pollard James Waugh John Potts _1788_ Martin Cockburn William Lyles (_1793-1796_ Fairfax County Court Order Books are missing. ) _1797_ Thompson Mason James Keith, Jr. _1798_ Francis Adams John Stewart Alexander James Coleman Elisha C. Dick Charles Eskridge John Gunnell William Gunnell John Jackson William Lane, Jr. Ludwell Lee Richard Bland Lee Samuel Love John Potts, Jr. Richard Ratcliffe William Stanhope George Summers William H. Washington _1801_ Francis Adams Charles Alexander John S. Alexander Charles Broadwater James Coleman Richard Conway William Deneale Elisha C. Dick Benjamin Dulany Charles Eskridge John Fitzgerald George Gilpin John Gunnell Thomas Gunnell William Gunnell William Herbert Robert T. Hooe John Jackson William Lane, Jr. Ludwell Lee Richard B. Lee Charles Little Samuel Love Daniel McCarty Thompson Mason George Minor John Moss William Payne John Potts, Jr. Richard Ratcliffe William Stanhope David Stewart (_sic. _) George Summers William H. Washington James Waugh John West Roger West James Wren Now dead: Love, Fitzgerald, T. Gunnell, R. West, J. Gunnell, J. S. Alexander, D. McCarty Now moved: Ludwell Lee Now refuses to qualify: Summers Now in D. C. : Gilpin, Hooe, Alexander, Conway, Herbert, Potts, Dick, Washington Now disqualified: Adams _1802_ Augustine J. Smith Humphrey Peake John Keene James H. Blake _1803_ Samuel Adams, Jr. _1804_ Richard Coleman Spencer Jackson George Graham _1807_ Present: William Gunnell, Jr. William Payne Wm. Deneale Augustine J. Smith Hancock Lee Humphrey Peake Spencer Jackson Absent: George Summers, Gentleman Persons to be recommended to the Governor as proper persons to be commissioned by him as Justices of the Peace, or added to the Commission of the Peace for the County: John C. Hunter John C. Scott Daniel McCarty Chichester Joseph Powell Edward Dulin James L. Triplett John Y. Ricketts George Mason _1808_ Present: William Gunnell, Jr. James Waugh William Lane, Jr. Thomson Mason George Summers Humphrey Peake George Graham James L. Triplett Absent: James Coleman William Gunnell, Jr. David Stuart William Payne William Deneale Thompson Mason Richard Ratcliffe George Summers Augustine J. Smith James Waugh Hancock Lee Humphrey Peake George Graham John Coleman Acting in _1816-17_ James Coleman Wm. Lane, Jr. Thompson Mason Rich. Ratcliffe John Jackson Augustine J. Smith Rich. M. Scott Humphrey Peake Rich. Coleman Spencer Jackson John C. Hunter James L. Triplett John T. Ricketts Lawrence Lewis Wm. H. Terrett Henry Gunnell, Jr. Alex'r Waugh Geo. Minor Geo. Gunnell Francis L. Lee John W. Ashton Dan'l M. Chichester Geo. Taylor Wm. H. Foote James Waugh James Sangster Thomas Moss Dan'l Dulany Chas. G. Broadwater Wm. H. Fitzhugh _1819-1826_ William A. G. Dade Acting in _1824_ Rich. Ratcliffe Rich. M. Scott Lawrence Lewis Spencer Jackson John C. Hunter James L. Triplett Alex'r Waugh Geo. Gunnell Geo. Mason Augst. J. Smith John W. Ashton Geo. Taylor Wm. H. Foote James Sangster Thos. Moss Dan'l Dulany Chas. L. Broadwater Wm. H. Fitzhugh Chas. F. Ford Benedict M. Lang Eli Offutt John Jackson Robt. Ratcliffe Chas. Ratcliffe Wm. E. Beckwith John Geanit Mottrom Ball Rich. C. Mason Joshua Hutchison Sam'l Summers _1831-1838_ John Scott Acting between _1825-42_ Geo. Millan Silas Burke Rich. H. Cockerille Rich. C. Mason Dennis Johnston John D. Bell John Gunnell Frederick Carper Spencer M. Ball Edward Sangster James Millan Thomas Nevett John H. Halley Wm. Ball John Millan Geo. Mason John B. Hunter Henry Fairfax Wm. H. Alexander Frederick A. Hunter Wm. A. Chichester Alfred Moss Chas. C. Stuart James Hunter Benj. F. Rose James Cloud Fred. M. Ford Wm. R. Selectman Nelson Conrad W. W. Ball Jno. Powell Jno. A. Washington Wm. H. Wren _1839-52_ John Scott John W. Tyler _1852-55_ Silas Burke William Ball Wm. R. Selectman W. W. Ball John Millan Nelson Conrad William H. Wrenn James Hunter Ira Williams Thomas Suddath George H. Padgett James M. Benton John R. Dale Thos. A. Davis S. T. Stuart Levi Burke James Fox Robert M. Whaley Abner Brush John Cowling F. W. Flood Francis E. Johnston John W. Hickey R. C. Mason R. McC. Throckmorton W. W. Elzey Willis B. McCormick William Barker F. M. Ford Francis C. Davis John W. Hickey Spencer Jackson John N. Taylor John B. Farr J. C. Gunnell John R. Grigsby _1858-60_ John C. Gunnell Tenley S. Swink Richard L. Nevitt Daniel Kincheloe Francis C. Davis Richard Johnson W. B. McCormick F. C. Davis Ira Williams Francis E. Johnston Geo. H. Padgett George Burke John Burke John Dole John A. Washington Alfred Leigh Francis C. Davis James Hunter W. B. McCormick William L. Lee Wm. W. Ellzey John Cowling Benjamin F. Shreve William S. Seitz James P. Machen George Padgett James Simpson ---- Mann W. W. Ball Richard Johnston B. D. Utterback F. M. Ford Cyrus Hickey A. S. McKenzie R. C. Mason Henry Jenkins _1863-1867_ Thomas P. Brown James H. Rice Wm. Terry Andrew Sagar Herain Cockrill Samuel Pullman Reuben Ives Daniel W. Lewis E. E. Mason Levi Dening Harry Bready William A. Ferguson William Walters William T. Rumsey Talmadege Thorne Courtland Lukens Metrah Makely John B. Troth George B. Ives Josiah B. Bowman Job Hawxhurst George F. M. Walters J. W. Barcroft George W. Millan Cyrus Hickey James C. Dentz B. D. Utterback Thomas E. Carper _1866_ John Powell Lewis George Francis Davis _1867_ T. Wm. Barcroft W. B. Bowman Thomas E. Carper Francis C. Davis James C. Dentz M. E. Fora Wm. E. Ford John B. Troth Job Hawxhurst George B. Ives Richard Johnson William Lee Alfred Leigh Courtland Lukens Metrah Makely E. E. Mason Samuel Pullman James H. Rice W. T. Rice Jonathan Roberts Silas Simpson Daniel Sims Cyrus Stickey B. D. Utterback Wm. F. McWalters _1868_ T. Wm. Barcroft W. B. Bowman Thomas C. Carper N. P. Dennison Francis C. Davis James C. Dentz Wm. E. Ford John B. Troth Job Hawxhurst Richard Johnson George B. Ives Alfred Leigh Courtland Lukens Metrah Makely E. E. Mason Sam Pullman W. T. Rice Silas Simpson Daniel W. Sims Cyrus Stickey R. D. Utterback Geo. F. M. Walters _1869_ T. Wm. Barcroft W. B. Bowman Jacob Brooks Carter Burton John L. Detwiler Wm. E. Ford John B. Troth George B. Ives Job Hawxhurst Richard Johnson Alfred Leigh Daniel W. M. Lewis Courtland Lukens E. E. Mason Samuel Pullman James H. Rice T. W. Rice Samuel Shaw Silas Simpson D. Sims Cyrus Stickey B. D. Utterback E. W. Wakefield Wm. Walters _1870_ T. Wm. Barcroft W. B. Bowman Jacob Brooks Carter Burton George B. Ives Job Hawxhurst Courtland Lukens Samuel Pullman E. W. Wakefield Geo. F. W. Walters _1870-1874_ Richard H. Cockerille _1874-1885_ James Sangster _1886-1899_ D. M. Chichester _1897-1903_ James M. Love _Virginia Circuit Court Judges_ John M. Tyler, 1852-1860 No record of a court held, 1861-1863 Edward K. Snead, 1864-1865 Henry W. Thomas, 1866-1868 W. Willoughby, June 1869 Lysander Hill, November 1869 James Keith, 1870-1894 C. E. Nicol, 1895-1907 Louis C. Barely, 1907 J. B. T. Thornton, 1908-1918 Samuel G. Brent, 1918-1928 Howard W. Smith, 1928-1930 Walter T. McCarthy, 1931-1944 Paul E. Brown, 1944-1966 Arthur W. Sinclair, 1950-1977 Harry L. Carrico, 1956-1961 Calvin Van Dyck, 1961-1967 Albert V. Bryan, Jr. , 1962-1971 Barnard F. Jennings, 1964- James Keith, 1966- William G. Plummer, 1967- Lewis D. Morris, 1968- Percy Thornton, Jr. , 1968-1977 Burch Millsap, 1968- James C. Cacheris, 1971- Thomas J. Middleton, 1975- Richard J. Jamborsky, 1976- _County General District Court_ Robert Fitzgerald, 1951-1955 John Corboy, 1954-1955 John A. Rothrock, Jr. , 1955- J. Mason Grove, 1955- Martin E. Morris, 1965- Donald C. Crounse, 1966-1974 Robert M. Hurst, 1972- Lewis Hall Griffith, 1974- G. William Hammer, 1976- _Juvenile Court Judges_ Frank L. Deierhoi, 1965- Richard J. Jamborsky, 1968-1976 Philip N. Brophy, 1973- Arnold B. Kassabian, 1976- Raymond O. Kellam, 1976-1977 APPENDIX C PORTRAITS IN THE OLD COURTHOUSE _James Roberdeau Allison_, (1864-1927), was born in Orange County, Virginia, grew up in Centreville and taught school in Fairfax andLoudoun counties. He served the county as deputy treasurer, deputysheriff and then was elected sheriff in 1904. Consistently re-elected, he was sheriff until his death. _Paul E. Brown_, (1904-1968), was born in Oklahoma, and moved toFairfax County with his family in 1919. He served as commonwealthattorney for three terms and was appointed judge of the Fairfax CountyCircuit Court in 1944. He served as senior court judge from 1951 untilhis death. _Daniel McCarty Chichester_, (1834-1897), was born in Fairfax County, served in the Confederate army and later taught school in Maryland andTennessee. He practiced law and was for a short time superintendent ofschools and a delegate to the state legislature. He was elected judgeof Fairfax and Alexandria (Arlington) counties in 1886 and serveduntil his death. _Bryan Fairfax_, (1737-1802), was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia and grew up at Belvoir, in Fairfax County. He was a justiceof the Fairfax County court and was ordained as an Episcopal minister, serving as rector of Fairfax Parish 1790-1792. He held the title ofeighth Lord Fairfax, Baron of Cameron, from 1800 until his death. _Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax, Baron of Cameron_, (1693-1781) was bornat Leeds Castle in Kent, England and immigrated to Fairfax County in1747. In 1749, he was commissioned a justice of the peace in eachcounty within the entire Northern Neck, of which he was proprietor. Hewas a trustee of the town of Alexandria and in 1754 became commandantof the frontier militia. He lived at Belvoir until 1761, when he movedto "Greenway Court, " his estate in the Shenandoah Valley where hespent the remainder of his life. _C. Vernon Ford_, (1871-1922), was born in the town of Fairfax, andpracticed law with his cousin, Joseph E. Willard. Ford was appointedcommonwealth's attorney for Fairfax County in 1879 and, later elected, served in this capacity until his death. _William Edwin Graham_, (1850-1916), was born in Fairfax County. Hesucceeded his father as clerk of the circuit court in 1887, servinguntil 1904, at which time he became deputy clerk under F. W. Richardson, serving in this position until his death. _George Johnston_, (1700-1766), was a son of Dr. James Johnston, whosettled in Maryland in the seventeenth century. He was a trustee ofAlexandria and practiced law there and in Winchester. He representedFairfax County in the House of Burgesses from 1758 until his death andwas the author of certain resolutions presented by Patrick Henry in1765, in opposition to the Stamp Act. _Walter Jones_, (1776-1861), was born in Northumberland County, Virginia and practiced law in Fairfax and Loudoun counties. AppointedU. S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, 1804-1821, he practicedlaw before the U. S. Supreme Court and in Virginia and Maryland. Hewas one of the founders of the American Colonization Society. At thetime of his death, he was Major-General of the militia of the Districtof Columbia. _William Henry Fitzhugh Lee_, (1837-1891), was born at "Arlington. " Herose to the rank of Major-General of cavalry in the Confederate army. After the Civil War, he was elected a state senator and then acongressman. He died at "Ravensworth" in Fairfax County while servinghis second term in congress. _George Mason_, (1725-1792), the fourth of that name in the Virginiacolony was born on Dogue's Neck, now Mason Neck, then in StaffordCounty, but now in Fairfax County. He was a justice of the county formost of his adult life, and a trustee of the town of Alexandria. Hebuilt his home, "Gunston Hall" in 1758. In 1774, he was the principalauthor of the Fairfax Resolves, and in 1776, the principal writer ofthe Virginia constitution and declaration of rights. The first tenamendments of the constitution were added, in part, because of hisinsistence on the necessity for a federal bill of rights. _Robert Walton Moore_, (1859-1941), was born in the town of Fairfax, and practiced law in the county. He served as a state senator and as acongressman. In 1933 he was appointed an assistant secretary of state, and in 1937, he became counselor of the Department of State. Throughout his adult life he was a member of numerous boards andcommissions including the boards of visitors of the University ofVirginia and the College of William and Mary. _Ferdinand Dawson Richardson_, (---- -1880), entered the clerk'soffice in 1826 under William Moss, clerk, and served as an assistantclerk or deputy clerk until 1870, when he was appointed clerk of thecourt, which position he held until his death. _Frederick Wilmer Richardson_, (1853-1936), was born in Fairfax, andwas the son of F. D. Richardson. He was deputy clerk under his fatherfor nine years, succeeding him in 1880. Elected to the new position ofclerk of the Circuit Court in 1881, he served in that capacity until1887, and again from 1904 to 1935. _Henry Wirt Thomas_, (1812-1890), was born in Loudoun County, Virginia. He served as commonwealth's attorney in Fairfax and waselected to the state legislature for a number of terms between 1841and 1875. Following the Civil War, he was appointed judge of the NinthCircuit Court of Virginia and later appointed lieutenant governor tofill out an unexpired term. _John Webb Tyler_, (1795-1862), served Fairfax County as a judge inthe circuit court of Virginia from 1850-1861. The circuit includedFairfax, Prince William, Loudoun and Fauquier counties and thequarterly courts were held at the county seats, including FairfaxCourt House. _George Washington_, (1732-1799), was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, and moved to "Mount Vernon" in Fairfax County when he wassixteen. He became a surveyor, was elected a burgess, and appointed ajustice of the Fairfax County court. During the American Revolution, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the unitedcolonies. He was elected the first president of the United States ofAmerica under the new constitution in 1789, and again in 1793. _Joseph Edward Willard_, (1865-1924), was born in Washington, D. C. Hepracticed law, and was lieutenant governor of Virginia, 1902-1906. President Woodrow Wilson appointed him minister to Spain in 1913;later he was elevated to ambassador to Spain. He owned the WillardHotel in Washington, but lived part of his life in the town ofFairfax, at "Layton Hall. " APPENDIX D CLERK'S OFFICE Excerpt from the _Alexandria Gazette and Virginia Advertiser_ July 15, 1853. NOTICE TO BUILDERS--Sealed proposals will be received by the undersigned, Commissioners, until Saturday, the 16th day of July next, at 12 o'clock M, for taking down the present Clerk's office of the Circuit Court of Fairfax County, and rebuilding it on the same ground, with the materials and of the size and description, following, to wit: The foundation wall to be 2 feet below the surface, and 15 inches thick, of good stone, laid in mortar--the walls above the ground to be laid on the stone foundation, of brick, fourteen inches thick, and laid in good mortar, --the building to be 36 feet long by 24 feet wide including the walls, two stories high, and of the height of the present building, with a passage of entry 12 feet wide, adjoining the County Court office; the passage wall also resting on a stone foundation and running from bottom to top--doors at each end of the entry, and one door to each of the rooms--each room to have four windows, twenty lights and 8 × 10 glass. The outer doors and window frames to be of cast iron, with stone sills, and the doors and window shutters to be covered with sheet iron, so as to be fire proof. The joists to be 2 × 10 inches, 16 inches apart on the lowest floor, resting upon a girder 6 × 12 inches; on the upper, without a girder, but properly braced, and the flooring of the rooms to be of the best North Carolina boards, planed, tongued and grooved, and one and a quarter inches thick. The entry floor of best flagging brick, and the stairway of stone. The roofing to be of slate, of good quality, and the rafters to be substantially framed, and suitable for slate roof. To each of the rooms there is to be a fireplace. The woodwork is to be of the best material and workmanship, and corresponding with the other work. The house is to be guttered, and the iron, wood, and guttering to have two coats of paint on it. Each door to be provided with suitable locks, the house walls plastered, and the whole completed on or before the last day of January 1854, at which time the work if approved by the Commissioners, and also by the Court, will be paid for. The proposals will state what the entire work will be done for, including the furnishing of all materials and labor, and, also, including the taking down of the old building and the use of such of the old materials as can be used for rebuilding; also for what the work will be done without regard to the old building, either in taking down or the use of old materials. Notice to the successful bidder will be given within five days after opening the bids, and bond with security required from the person to whom the contract may be awarded, but the Commissioners reserve the right to reject all. For further information, apply to either of the undersigned at Fairfax Court House. . NEWMAN BURKE ) GEO. W. HUNTER, JR. ) Comm'rs ALFRED MOSS ) APPENDIX E COURTHOUSE RESTORATION SCHEDULE OF WORK TO BE PERFORMED IN THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE FAIRFAXCOUNTY COURTHOUSE, 1967 The following list comprises the schedule of work to be performed inthe reconstruction of the Fairfax County Courthouse as set forth inthe drawings prepared by Walter M. Macomber, architect for theproject, in December 1965: _DEMOLITION_--Remove main floor, subfloor and joists, taking care toleave two columns supporting balcony, and beams beneath flooruntouched. Remove all material in such a manner as to be re-usable ifsuitable. Remove all woodwork within building: wainscot, railings, bench, window& door casing, etc. Remove all frame partitions. Remove cantilevered forward section of balcony back to existing beam, including stair. Remove existing segmental-top two-storey windows at sides of building. Remove sash only from existing small windows, unless jambs are rottedor otherwise found unsuitable for re-use. Carefully remove all finished flooring in balcony and porch chamber, taking care not to damage subfloor. All heating pipes shall be removed and temporarily capped off belowthe first floor. All electrical wiring shall be removed and recappedbelow the first floor level except such as shall be needed for powertools, etc. Contractor shall carefully remove all existing monuments and plaqueswithin building, securely store them, and reset them upon completionat direction of architect. _MATERIALS_--All new joists and studs shall be of construction gradefir, free of all parasites & decay, having a moisture content nogreater than 18%. All new subfloor to be 5/8" plyscord. Apply sisalcraft paper between subfloor and finished floor. All flooring shall be 25/32" × 5-1/2" tongue and groove clear southernlong leaf yellow pine, with relieved back & face edges slightly eased. The use of resawn used mill framing obtained from demolition companiesis recommended in order to obtain straight grain. Architect must besubmitted samples of flooring for his approval before use. No piecesshorter than eight feet will be used, except where necessary atjuncture of floor & wall. All stair treads shall be of 1' 8" thickclear yellow pine, bull-nosed. All interior woodwork to be of clear western white pine, S 4 S, ofthickness as shown on plans. Wainscot shall be of 3/4' thick by 3-5/8", 5-1/2" & 7-1/2" clear whitepine, tongue & grooved, with a 1/4" bead on one face edge. Doors, windows (sash & jamb) & balusters will be of clear westernwhite pine. Front door jamb shall be of 1-5/8 th. Clear yellow pine. Interior jambs of 1-1/8" th. Cl. Yellow pine. Pew material to be of 1-1/8" clear yellow pine, S 4 S. Rails to be birch for staining. Moisture content for all to be no greater than 12%. _FOUNDATION WORK_--Point up all existing foundations, piers, footings, etc. In basement and crawl space. Replace all supporting beams rotted or otherwise unsuitable forre-use. Excavate existing crawl space to a minimum of three feet below joists, and cover with 2-1/2-3" thick broom finished concrete slab, on 4 milpolyethylene film. Move existing basement stair to location on plan, and floor-overopening thus made to top of stairs. _MASONRY_--Carefully remove several sample face bricks from existingsidewalls, clean all but weather-face, and submit to Locher Brick Co. , Glasgow, Va. For duplication. Remove segmental arches above two storey window openings, and extendwindow openings to same height as those of porch chamber windows. Using existing downstairs window sills, brick-in two rough openingsrequired by new windows. Set steel lintels as called for on plan, andbrick between vertical window openings. Take care that the newbrickwork appears continuous with existing masonry & is properlytoothed & bonded. Architect shall approve colour of mortar andduplicated brick before setting in place. Repoint or rebuild existing chimneys & fireplaces. Build new hearthsof duplicated brick for downstairs fireplaces. Repoint all existing brickwork, interior & exterior, as may berequisite. _WEATHERSTRIPPING_--All double-hung windows shall be weatherstrippedwith "Chamberlain" No. 100-A Zinc Heavy-Duty, full-sash units, withprotection at head, meeting rail & sill. Front entrance door shall have spring bronze weatherstripping allaround, except at sill which is to receive "Chamberlain" No. 869-Anarrow brass threshhold with No. 826 bronze door hook. _INSULATION_--Entire building to be covered with 4" thick batts ofrock-wool or fibre-glass, combination aluminum foil insulation, applied immediately over lath between ceiling joists. _PAINTING & DECORATING_--All woodwork, interior or exterior, shall beback primed with white lead before erection. All exterior woodwork to receive two coats of white lead in oil. Remove loose or heavy accumulations of paint from existing woodworkbefore painting. All interior woodwork to receive one coat of primer, one coat halfprimer & half enamel & finish coat of semi-gloss enamel. Plaster surfaces, when thoroughly dry, shall be washed with zincsulphate neutralizer. First paint coat shall be wall size and primer. Second coat two parts flat wall paint & one part size. Finish withegg-shell wall paint. Plaster cornice to receive first coat of size, second coat half size & half enamel. Finish coat semi-gloss enamel. Architect shall select all colours. _FLOOR FINISHING_--Floors shall be lightly sanded to remove stains andimperfections & to reasonably level. Floors shall be stained, filled, shellaced and waxed. Colour of stain shall be selected by architect. _LATHING & PLASTERING_--All interior surfaces of exterior masonrywalls shall receive 3/8" gypsum lath securely nailed to 1" × 2" woodfurring strips anchored to masonry. Coat masonry before furring with"Thoroseal" from Standard Dry Wall Products Co. , New Eagle, Penna. Entire ceiling to be lathed with high-rib metal lath securely naileddirectly to ceiling joists. Stud partitions to receive 3/8" gypsumlath. Ceiling of porch to receive high-rib metal lath applied overexisting wood ceiling. All inside corners to receive expanded metalcornerite. Outside corners to receive metal corner bead. Apply stripsof metal lath 6" wide over openings in stud partitions. All plaster cornices shall be run in place and formed over heavy gaugemetal lath, with moulding plaster. All surfaces to be plasteredminimum 3/4" thick (including lath) in two coats; Brown & finishwhite. White coat to have smooth float sand finish. _GLAZING_--All windows to be glazed with 9" × 10-3/4" welded glassedge or metal edged insulating glass one-half inch thick composed oftwo sheets of 1/8" double strength "A" window glass with one-quarterinch air space between. All glass to be set in frames with glazierspoints. Back-bed w/thin coating of elastic glazing compound andputty-in smoothly. _SCREENING_--All louvres in cupola to be back screened with fine mesh, copper screen wire. _FINISHED HARDWARE_--All hinges, locks, latches, shutter hardware, etc. Shall be selected by the architect. Allow $400. 00 for finishedhardware. LIST OF SOURCES _BOOKS_ Black, J. B. _The Reign of Elizabeth, 1558-1603. _ Oxford: OxfordUniversity, 1936. Bruce, P. A. _Institutional History of Virginia in the SeventeenthCentury. _ New York: Putnam, 1910. Catton, Bruce. _A Stillness at Appomatox. _ New York: Cardinal GiantEdition, Pocket Books, Inc. , 1958. Clark, Sir Kenneth. _Civilisation. _ New York: Harper & Row, 1969. Cresswell, Nicholas. _The Journals of Nicholas Cresswell, 1774-1777. _Pt. Washington, N. Y. : Kennikat Press, 1968. Davis, Jefferson. _The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government. _New York: Yoseloff, 1958. Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. _Industrial and Historical Sketchof Fairfax County, Virginia. _ Fairfax: County Board of Supervisors, 1907. Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce. _Historic, Progressive FairfaxCounty in Old Virginia. _ Alexandria: Newell-Cole. 1928. Fennelly, Catherine. _The New England Village Scene: 1800. _Sturbridge: Old Sturbridge Village, 1955. Fleming, Walter L. _The Sequel of Appomatox. _ New Haven: YaleUniversity, 1921. Fletcher, Sir Banister. _A History of Architecture. _ New York:Scribners, 1961. Freeman, Douglas S. _George Washington: A Biography: YoungWashington. _ New York: Scribner, 1948. Hall, Wilmer, ed. _Executive Journals of the Council of ColonialVirginia. _ Richmond: Virginia State Library, 1945. Harrison, Fairfax. _Landmarks of Old Prince William. _ Richmond: OldDominion Press, 1924. Reprint Berryville, Va. : Chesapeake Book Co. , 1964. Hiden, Martha. _How Justice Grew: Virginia Counties: An Abstract ofTheir Formation. _ Williamsburg: Virginia 350th AnniversaryCelebration, 1957. _A Hornbook of Virginia History. _ Richmond: Virginia State Library. [1965]. Kuhlman, Charles. _The Development of the Flour-Milling Industry inthe United States. _ Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1929. Martin, Joseph. _Gazetteer of Virginia and the District of Columbia. _Charlottesville, 1835. McDanel, Ralph. _The Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1891-92. _Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1928. McIlwaine, H. R. , ed. _Journals of the House of Burgesses, 1742-49. _Richmond, 1909. _Minutes of the Vestry, Truro Parish, Virginia, 1732-1785. _ Lorton, Va. : Pohick Church, 1974. Moore, Gay M. _Seaport on the Potomac. _ Richmond: Garrett & Massie, 1949. Morison, Samuel E. And Commager, Henry S. _The Growth of the AmericanRepublic. _ New York: Oxford, 1937. O'Neal, William. _Architecture in Virginia. _ New York: Walker, 1968. Payne, Lloyd. _The Miller in Eighteenth Century Virginia. _Williamsburg: Colonial Williamsburg, 1963. Porter, Albert O. _County Government in Virginia. _ New York: ColumbiaUniversity Press, 1947. Powell, Mary G. _The History of Old Alexandria, Virginia from July 13, 1749 to May 24, 1861. _ Richmond: William Byrd Press, 1928. _Programme of the Virginia Good Roads Convention. _ Roanoke: StonePrinting Co. [1894]. Prussing, Eugene E. _The Estate of George Washington, Deceased. _Boston: Little, Brown, and Co. , 1927. Rives, William C. _History of the Life and Times of James Madison. _Boston: Little, Brown, 1873. Roman, Alfred. _Military Operations of Gen. Beauregard. _ New York:Harper & Bros. , 1884. Rust, Jeanne. _History of the Town of Fairfax. _ Washington: Moore &Moore, 1960. Steadman, Melvin. _Falls Church by Fence and Fireside. _ Falls Church, Va. : Falls Church Public Library, 1964. Sydnor, Charles. _American Revolutionaries in the Making. _ New York:Collier, 1962. Wayland, John. _History of Rockingham County, Virginia. _ Dayton, Va. :Ruebush-Elkins, 1912. _ARTICLES_ Anderson, Robert. "The Administration of Justice in the Counties ofFairfax, and Alexandria and the City of Alexandria. " _ArlingtonHistorical Magazine_, II (1961): 1. Andrews, Marshall. "A History of Railroads in Fairfax County. "_Yearbook of the Historical Society of Fairfax County_, " III (1954):30-31. Burke, Elizabeth. "Our Heritage: A History of Fairfax County. "_Yearbook of the Historical Society of Fairfax County. _ 1956-7. Chapman, Thomas, Jr. "The Secession Election in Fairfax County, May23, 1861. " _Yearbook of the Historical Society of Fairfax County_, IV(1955): 50. Hyman, Sidney. "Empire of Liberty. " _With Heritage So Rich. _ New York:Random House, 1966. "Letters of George Mason to Zachariah Johnston. " _Tyler's QuarterlyReview_, V. (January 1924. ) "Martha Washington's Will and the Story of its Loss and Recovery byFairfax County. " _Yearbook of the Historical Society of FairfaxCounty, Virginia_, II (1952-53): 40-62. Moore, William C. "Jeremiah Moore: 1746-1815. " _William and MaryQuarterly_, 2d ser. XIII, 18, 21. Smith, Governor William. "The Skirmish at Fairfax Court House. " _TheFairfax County Centennial Commission. _ Vienna, Virginia: 1961. _University of Virginia Newsletter. _ Charlottesville: Institute ofGovernment, University of Virginia. XLIII (July 15, 1967): 1. Whiffen, Marcus. "The Early Courthouses of Virginia. " _Journal of theSociety of Architectural Historians. _ XVIII (March 1959): 1. _PUBLIC RECORDS_ Fairfax County Board of Supervisors _Annual Report_, 1969. Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Minute Books Fairfax County Court Minute Books Fairfax County Deed Books Fairfax County Record of Surveys, 1742-1850. Northern Neck Grant Books Virginia Laws _INTERVIEWS AND UNPUBLISHED WORKS_ Architectural drawings, 1951-1956, Facilities Management Office, County of Fairfax. Artemel, Janice, "James Wren, Gentleman Joiner, " (unpublishedmanuscript) Falls Church, Va. , 1976. Chapman, Thomas. Fairfax County, Virginia. Interview, 13 February1970. Feiss, Carl. "Court Houses of Virginia, " lecture. Latrobe (Washington)Chapter, Society of Architectural Historians, 8 November 1968. Macomber, Walter. Fairfax, Virginia. Interview, 2 March 1970. Moger, Allen W. "The Rebuilding of the Old Dominion, " (unpublisheddoctoral dissertation) Columbia University, 1940. Sprouse, Edith M. , ed. Fairfax County Abstracts: Court Order Books1749-1792. _NEWSPAPERS_ _Alexandria Gazette_ _Columbia Mirror & Alexandria Advertiser_ _Fairfax County Free Press_ _Fairfax Herald_ _Fairfax News_ _Northern Virginia Sun_ _Virginia Gazette_ _Washington Post_ BOARD OF SUPERVISORS John F. Herrity, Chairman Martha V. Pennino, Vice-Chairman Joseph Alexander Warren I. Cikins Alan H. Magazine Audrey Moore James M. Scott John P. Shacochis Marie B. Travesky HISTORY COMMISSION Edith M. Sprouse, Chairman Donie Rieger, Vice-Chairman Bernard N. Boston C. J. S. Durham William Elkjer Denzil O. Evans Mary M. Fahringer Ceres Gaskins John P. Liberty Virginia B. Peters Mayo S. Stuntz Charles Cecil Wall ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW BOARD John J. Gattuso, Chairman Glenn Ovrevik, Vice-Chairman Thomas Cagley Donald C. Cannon Donald R. Chandler Donovan E. Hower Louis Papa S. Richard Rio James D. Webber Mary M. Fahringer, ex officio OFFICE OF COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING Theodore J. Wessel, Director Peter T. Johnson, Branch Chief Nan Netherton, Historian Elizabeth David, Historic Preservation Planner Donald Sweig, Research Historian Jay Linard, Copy Editor Annette Thomas, Copy Preparation Gloria Matthews, Designer Robin Pedlar, Assistant [Illustration: Back cover photo, court papers by Bernie Boston, 1976. ] +--------------------------------------------------------------------+| TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE. || || Copyright material in the original (the image on p. 76) has been || omitted from this ebook. || || No anchors for footnotes 54 and 163 are present in the text. || || Discrepancies have been preserved between titles in the List Of || Illustrations and the illustrations themselves. || |+--------------------------------------------------------------------+