The Fauquier County Courthouse, also called the Old Courthouse, is a historic building within the historic district of the Warrenton, Virginia. The courthouse was originally located near the Town cemetery, but was relocated to the current location in 1795.[1] Since then, four iterations of the courthouse have been built, with the current structure having been completed in 1890.[2]
The original courthouse, constructed in 1759, was built to serve as the county seat of the newly formed Fauquier County.[1] A more permanent courthouse modelled after Lancaster County's courthouse was built from 1760 to 1762 on land formerly belonging to Richard Henry Lee by John Bell.[5] In 1795, the courthouse was relocated to its current location.[1]
A third courthouse built in its current Greek revivalist style was designed and constructed in the same location by John R. Spilman in 1818 for $18,000; however, this structure suffered fire damage in 1853 from a believed act of arson and in 1889 from a fire caused by an election day firework display.[3][5][6]
Interior of the Old Courthouse when first built.
The current courthouse was designed and restored by William H. Baldwin and Albert Fletcher as a near-replica of the 1818 courthouse and completed in 1890.[3][5] This construction utilized the still-intact walls of the previous structure.[5]
Largely due to the limited space within the 1890 courthouse, a new courthouse was built nearby in 1974 with most judicial operations having relocated to this new facility.[5]
In 2018, the court's clocktower was repaired. This job largely focused on rotting wood within the bell tower's walls and exterior paint.[6]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
