Warwick County Courthouses

Warwick County Courthouses
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Virginia Landmarks Register
Warwick County Courthouse, April 2013
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Interactive map showing the location of Warwick County Courthouse
Location	Old Courthouse Way, Newport News, Virginia
Coordinates	37°7′47″N76°32′33″W / 37.12972°N 76.54250°W / 37.12972; -76.54250
Area	1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built	1810 (1810), 1884, 1909
Architectural style	Italianate, Federal
NRHP reference No.	88002186 [1]
VLR No.	121-0001
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	November 3, 1988
Designated VLR	February 16, 1988 [2]

Warwick County Courthouses, also known as the Warwick County Courthouse and Clerk's Office, is a historic courthouse and clerk's office located in Newport News, Virginia.

The original county courthouse was located closer to the James River at Warwick Town near Denbigh Plantation, but it is no longer standing. The county moved its seat to the new location in 1810 and built a one-story, three-room, T-shaped plan Federal-style brick building. It has a slate-covered gable roof and exterior end chimneys, and it was later enlarged by a side and rear addition. As part of the Peninsula Campaign, on the afternoon of April 5, 1862, IV Corps under BG Erasmus D. Keyes reached and looted the Warwick County Courthouse. The area used as a camp and division headquarters thereafter. The observation balloon Constitution designed by Thaddeus S. C. Lowe was anchored at the courthouse for a time. ^[3] The clerk’s office was burned on December 15, 1864, and the court minute books and loose records from 1787 to 1819 were destroyed. Other records sent to Richmond, Virginia for safekeeping during the civil war were lost in the fire there on April 3, 1865.

The later courthouse was built in 1884 and is a two-story, Italianate-style brick building. It has a rectangular plan and a shallow, metal-covered, hipped roof with three shallow cross gables. It features a square wood bell cupola that rises above the central projecting bay. In 1888, the county court relocated for a short period to an area in what is now downtown Newport News. It was moved back to this location in 1896 when Newport News became an independent city. The buildings housed county offices until 1958, when Warwick County, Virginia was combined with the City of Newport News. ^[4]

On the property was a Confederate monument for the Warwick Beauregards, dedicated in May 1909. In August 2020, the City of Newport News voted to remove the monument, and it was removed shortly thereafter. ^{[5] [6] [7]}

The Courthouses were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. ^[1]

Courthouse area, 1880s-1950s

Directly across the street from the courthouse, Levin Smith built a 16-room hotel (Smith's Hotel) and James T. Garrow built a general store in 1883. The hotel would house lawyers and judges while court was in session. The hotel operated up till shortly after 1909, when proprietor Levin Smith died. Afterwards it became a private home. The general store was destroyed by fire in the mid 1950s and not rebuilt. ^{[8] [9]} The hotel building was torn down in 1985. ^[10]

See also

• Warwick Town
• Warwick County, Virginia
• City of Warwick, Virginia
• Denbigh, Virginia

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
3. "Historic Sites of Newport News". City of Newport News. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
4. John Salmon and Julie Vosmik (February 1988). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Warwick County Courthouses" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. and Accompanying two photos
5. "Newport News wraps Denbigh Confederate monument in tarp to prevent potential damage, City Council exploring monument's future". Daily Press. June 23, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
6. "Newport News City Council Votes to Move Confederate Monument". Wavy TV 10. August 11, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
7. "Warwick County Confederate Monument". The Historical Marker Database. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
8. Laborwit, Ed (September 25, 1966). "It was the Best Hotel In Denbigh". The Daily Press. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
9. Raper, Betsy (August 26, 1979). "Smith's Hotel - 14420 Old Courthouse Way". Old Courthouse Way, a Path to the Past . Retrieved January 20, 2025.
10. "Bygone Days in Denbigh". The Historical Marker Database.