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[Illustration: The old courthouse about 1920. Copy courtesy Lee
Hubbard.]
The Fairfax County
Courthouse
[Illustration]
The Fairfax County Courthouse
BY
ROSS D. NETHERTON
AND
RUBY WALDECK
Published by the Fairfax County Office of Comprehensive Planning under
the direction of the County Board of Supervisors in cooperation with
the 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 the
historical and architectural landmarks of Fairfax County, Virginia. It
has been prepared under the supervision of the Fairfax County Office
of Comprehensive Planning, in cooperation with the Fairfax County
History Commission, pursuant to a resolution of the Board of County
Supervisors calling for a survey of the County's historic sites and
buildings.
The authors of this report wish to acknowledge with thanks the
assistance of Lindsey Carne, Mrs. J. H. Elliott, Lee Hubbard, Mrs.
Jean Johnson Rust, and Mrs. Barry Sullivan, who provided information
and graphics for this publication. Also valuable were the comments of
the Honorable James Keith, Circuit Court Judge; Mrs. Edith M. Sprouse;
John K. Gott; Mrs. Catharine Ratiner; and Mayo S. Stuntz, all of whom
reviewed 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 of
Fairfax County; the Honorable James Hoofnagle, present Clerk of the
Courts; and to Walter M. Macomber, architect of the 1967
reconstruction of the original wing of the courthouse, who granted
extensive interviews which filled many of the gaps created by lack of
documentary sources.
Throughout the entire research and writing of this report, the authors
received valuable guidance and comments from the members of the
Fairfax County History Commission and assistance from the staffs of
the 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. Annette
Thomas, and Ms. Robin Pedlar in manuscript preparation.
Ross Netherton
Ruby Waldeck
FOREWORD
_The Fairfax County Courthouse_ is an important addition to the
historical record of Fairfax County, Virginia. It brings together in
one volume a history of the Fairfax County Courthouses and a manual of
the organization and operation of governmental affairs centered within
them over the years. A particular insight with regard to the early
years of the county is evident.
Dr. Netherton and Mrs. Waldeck describe the consequential role the
courthouse enjoyed as a social center as they examine the governmental
role which made it the centerpiece of Fairfax County. The reader will
note that the early Fairfax County officials gained an understanding
of the importance of democratic government in our nation through their
participation in county government while the people they served
developed a sense of community through their interaction at the
courthouse. The present courthouse stands as a monument to the
governmental and social prosperity Fairfax County has enjoyed.
This text documents the story of the building which has stood at the
center of almost two centuries of political life in Fairfax County.
The extensive footnotes will prove an invaluable aid to scholars
exploring the history of the county. History students in our county's
schools will find _The Fairfax County Courthouse_ an important
addition to their reading lists. We are all indebted to Ross Netherton
and Ruby Waldeck for their contribution in casting such a revealing
light 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's
leaders whose skill in politics was demonstrated so well in a
half-century that saw independence achieved and a new republic
established. They were products of a system of government which itself
had been perfected over more than 150 years before the colonies
declared their independence. To these men--George Washington, George
Mason, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, John Marshall, George Wythe,
James Madison, and the Carters--the County court was an academy for
education in the art of government. Important as it was to sit in the
House of Burgesses at Williamsburg, the lessons of politics and public
administration were learned best in the work of carrying on the
government of a county. Virginia counties were unique in colonial
history, for the considerable degree of autonomy enjoyed by the County
courts gave them both a taste of responsibility for a wide range of
public affairs and a measure of insulation from the changes of
political fortune which determined events in Williamsburg, and later
Richmond.
In Virginia, the county courthouse was the focal point of public
affairs. Usually built in a central location, with more regard for
accessibility from all corners of the county than for proximity to
established centers of commerce, the courthouse came to be a unique
complex of buildings related to the work of the court. In time, most
of these clusters of buildings grew into towns or cities, but
throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries many places shown
on Virginia maps as "Court House" consisted literally of a county
courthouse and its related structures standing alone beside a
crossroads.
On court days, however, the scene changed. The monthly sessions of the
court, conducted in colonial times by the "Gentleman Justices",
provided opportunities to transact all manner of public business--from
issuing licenses and collecting taxes to hearing litigation and
holding elections. They also were social events and market days; there
people came to meet their friends, hear the news, see who came
circuit-riding with the justices, sell their produce, and buy what
they needed.
In the two centuries since independence, profound changes have
occurred in all phases of life that were centered in the courthouse.
In Fairfax County, the pace and extent of these changes have been
extensive. Architectural historians who note uniqueness in the fact
that Virginia courthouses developed as a complex of related buildings
may see ominous symbolism in the fact that today one of the structures
in the cluster around Fairfax County's courthouse is a modern
fifteen-story county office building. Yet, at the same time this
office building was being planned, workmen were rehabilitating the
original section of the courthouse to represent its presumed
appearance in an earlier time, thus providing a reminder of the
historic role of county government in Virginia.
[Illustration: Five Colonial Justices of the Fairfax County
Court--George Mason.]
[Illustration: Five Colonial Justices of the Fairfax County
Court--George Washington.]
[Illustration: Five Colonial Justices of the Fairfax County
Court--Bryan, later eighth Lord Fairfax.]
[Illustration: Five Colonial Justices of the Fairfax County
Court--Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax.]
[Illustration: Five Colonial Justices of the Fairfax County
Court--George William Fairfax.]
CHAPTER I
FAIRFAX COUNTY'S EARLY COURTHOUSES, 1742-1800
Once the survival of the colony of Jamestown seemed assured, provision
for the efficient and orderly conduct of public affairs received
attention. The Jamestown colonist and his backers in the Virginia
Company of London were familiar with county government structure in
England, and from early colonial times the county was the basic unit
of local government in Virginia.
In the concept of county government, the role of the county court was
central. As early as 1618, Governor Sir George Yeardley established
the prototype of the County Court in his order stating that "A County
Court be held in convenient places, to sit monthly, and to hear civil
and criminal cases."[1] The magistrates or justices who comprised the
court were, as might be expected, the owners of the large plantations
and estates in the vicinity, and all were used to administering the
affairs of the people and lands under their control. Accordingly,
administrative duties as well as judicial duties were given to the
court, and the justices' responsibilities included such matters as the
issuance of marriage licenses, the planning of roads, and assessment
of taxes.[2]
Colonial Virginia statutes specified that each county should "cause to
be built a courthouse of brick, stone or timber; one common gaol,
well-secured with iron bars, bolts and locks, one pillory, whipping
post and stocks."[3] In addition, the law authorized construction of a
ducking stool, if deemed necessary, and required establishment of a
10-acre tract in which those imprisoned for minor crimes might, on
good behavior, walk for exercise. In addition, buildings were
customarily provided to house the office of the Clerk of the Court,
and to accommodate the justices of the assize and their entourage of
lawyers and others who accompanied them as they rode circuit among the
counties of the colony. In England, the "assizes" were sessions of the
justices' courts which met, generally twice a year in each shire, for
trial of questions of fact in both civil and criminal cases. The
county courts in colonial Virginia continued to be called assizes for
much of the 18th Century.
When events moved toward the partition of Prince William County to
create the County of Fairfax, the Journal of the Governor in Council
in 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 not
positively known. It is possible that the first sessions of the court
may have been held at Colchester. Although no records of the
transactions at these sessions have been found, an early history of
the County cites entries in an early deed book which order the removal
of the County Court's records from Colchester to a new courthouse more
centrally located in the county.[5]
Be this as it may, the plan to establish a courthouse which was
formalized by the Governor in Council apparently was deliberately
designed to accommodate the increasing settlement of areas inland from
the river plantations--an interest which the Proprietor, Thomas sixth
Lord Fairfax, shared.
"Spring Fields", the site of the court house, was part of a tract of
1,429 acres owned in 1740 by John Colvill, and conveyed by him in that
year to William Fairfax.[6] In this tract were numerous springs
forming the sources of Difficult Run, Accotinck Creek, Wolf Trap Run,
Scott's Run and Pimmit Run. It was high ground, comprising part of the
plateau area of the northern part of the County, and the site selected
for the courthouse had a commanding view for many miles around.
The location specified in the Council Order was on the New Church
Road (later known variously as the Eastern Ridge Road, the
Alexandria-Leesburg Road, or the Middle Turnpike) running from the
Falls Church to Vestal's Gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains, at a point
where this road intersected the Ox Road, running north and west from
the mouth of the Occoquan River. A map of 1748 also shows roads
running from the courthouse west in the direction of Aldie, and
southwest toward Newgate (now called Centreville).[7] The site was
roughly equidistant for persons coming from Alexandria, Newgate, and
the Goose Creek settlements, but somewhat farther for those from
Colchester.
The land on which courthouse was built was conveyed to the County by
deed from William Fairfax, dated September 24, 1745,[8] and described
six acres "where the court house of the said county is to be built and
erected," to be held by the County "during the time the said Court
shall be located there but no longer." According to a survey made in
March 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 monuments
capable of surviving to modern times were mentioned in the deed, and
today the site of the Springfield Courthouse can be determined as
approximately one-quarter mile south and west of Tyson's Corner.
Having in mind the statutory requirements, it is presumed that the
complex of buildings at Springfield consisted of a courthouse, a jail
with related structures, a clerk's office, and one or more "necessary
houses" (outhouses), all conveniently located with respect to each
other 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's
ordinary and related buildings, and the other, also surveyed in 1746,
was for one acre within the courthouse tract on which John Colvill was
allowed to build an ordinary.
No contemporary descriptions of the courthouse have survived, but it
is likely that the buildings were of log construction, on stone
foundations, with brick chimneys. A 16-foot-square addition to the
courthouse was ordered in 1749, with the specification that it have a
brick chimney.[10] An item from the Court Order Book, dated December
23, 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 County
Courthouse in Alexandria, as they might have appeared in the
eighteenth century. Drawn by Worth Bailey, 1949.]
In 1750, Fairfax County's western border closely approached the edge
of English settlement in Virginia. Settlements in the western part of
the County were growing far less rapidly than in the centers of
population in the eastern part. Alexandria, established as a town in
1749, showed signs of becoming a major seaport, and its merchants
complained that travel to the courthouse at Springfield was
burdensome, and that service of process and execution of writs was
well-nigh impossible.[12] They actively campaigned for moving the
courthouse to Alexandria, and overcame the opposition of the
"up-country" residents by offering to provide a suitable lot and build
a new courthouse in Alexandria.
Alexandria prevailed in 1752, and the records of the colonial Governor
in 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 record
of business transacted at the Spring Fields Courthouse.
In Alexandria, the townspeople set aside two lots in the block of the
original town survey bounded by Fairfax Street, Cameron Street and
King Street.[14] By ordinance, all buildings in the town had to face
the street and have chimneys of brick or stone, rather than wood, to
prevent fires.[15] The building erected as the new courthouse faced
Fairfax Street, between Cameron and King Streets. A prison was built
behind 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 Alexandria
are known, although there is evidence that John Carlyle helped with
the building of both the courthouse and market square.[17]
In the last half of the eighteenth century, Alexandria prospered as
the principal seaport of the Northern Neck. Its wharves and warehouses
were busy, and its politics were enlivened by the presence of some of
the colonies' most distinguished residents and visitors. As tobacco
gave way to diversified farming, wheat and flour comprised two of
Alexandria's major commodities of trade, and enforcement of the flour
inspection and marking laws became an important governmental function.
Criminal justice was dispensed publicly in the courthouse and jail
yard, furnishing moral lessons for both the culprits and observing
crowds. It was in this jail, too, that tradition has it Jeremiah
Moore, a dynamic Baptist minister of colonial Virginia, delivered a
sermon to crowds outside his cell window while he was confined for
preaching without a license.[18]
The court records for the years 1752 to 1798 show the names of many
Virginians who were leaders in the War of Independence and the
subsequent establishment of the new state government. Independence did
not significantly affect the judicial system, however, and, except for
their new allegiance, state and local officials conducted public
business much as they had in the 1760's.
During the years of war, however, the courthouse suffered
substantially because of lack of maintenance. After the war, repairs
frequently were postponed due to arguments over whether the state or
locality should raise the money for them. Thus, the court records of
the post-war period show frequent references to the need for repairs
on the courthouse and jail,[19] most, apparently, without success.
There were more serious questions being raised about the future of
the courthouse in Alexandria's market square. Alexandria no longer was
central to the County's most important interests. Its port was losing
trade to rivals, principally Baltimore, and the voice of the growing
numbers of settlers in the western part of the county complained that
Alexandria merchants gained at the expense of others by having the
court meet in their town. George Mason of Gunston Hall felt that
Alexandria politicians were building up too strong a hold on the
machinery of County government, and sought the aid of members of the
General Assembly to arrange for changing the location of the
courthouse.[20] Finally, in 1798, the Virginia General Assembly
directed that Fairfax County's Court House be relocated to a site
closer to the center of the County.[21]
The search for a suitable site had gone on for almost ten years
previously and might not have been concluded even then if its urgency
had not been sharpened by the passage of Congressional legislation
leading to creation of the District of Columbia, and the threat that
Alexandria would fall within the boundaries of the new Federal
capital. Since by law the County Court could not meet outside the
boundaries of the County, no further delay could be permitted. Land
was acquired, a new courthouse was built, and the County Court moved
into 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 State
Library, 1965), p. 64.
[3] Virginia, Laws, 1748, c. 7, revising earlier statutes on courts
enacted in 1662 and 1679.
[4] Wilmer Hall (Ed.), _Executive Journals of the Council of Colonial
Virginia_, (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 a
cousin of the Proprietor, and acted as his agent.
[7] The so-called Truro Parish Partition Map, purporting to lay out
boundaries for a division of Truro Parish to create a new parish for
the western settlements. See _Virginia Magazine of History and
Biography_, 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 1748
the General Assembly reduced the number of court meetings to four per
year 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, Virginia
from 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 & Mary
Quarterly_, 2d ser., XIII, 18, 21. Tradition also holds that Jeremiah
Moore was defended by Patrick Henry, but this has not been verified.
[19] Robert Anderson, "The Administration of Justice in the Counties
of Fairfax, and Alexandria and the City of Alexandria", _Arlington
Historical Magazine_, II, No. 1 (October 1961), 19-21.
[20] "Letters of George Mason to Zachariah Johnston", _Tyler's
Quarterly 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 original
courthouse building for temporary quarters. Harrison, _Landmarks_, p.
343, states that during this period the County Court met in the
Alexandria Town House, located next door, which also housed the
Hustings Court. He also states that the Clerk of the County Court set
up his offices in a nearby school building. The _Alexandria Gazette_,
November 13, 1878, reported the demolition of an old house on the
south side of Duke Street, east of St. Asaph's Street, which it stated
had served as the office of the Clerk of Alexandria's Hustings Court
and the Fairfax County Court commencing in the spring of 1793.