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Washington County Courthouse

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1868; 1917 alterations, Clarence B. Kearfott; 1954 rear annex. 189 E. Main St.
  • (Virginia Department of Historic Resources)

This courthouse, which replaced the one destroyed by fire in 1864, is the only courthouse built in Virginia during Reconstruction. The three-story courthouse constructed of red brick on stone foundations has a monumental full-height portico of four Greek Doric columns that lacks a pediment. This portico is almost as deep as the one-bay depth of the original front section of the building. The visual height of the courthouse, augmented by the diminishing heights of the second- and third-floor windows, is given further vertical emphasis by a two-stage cupola with eaves supported on paired brackets that are only slightly less ornate than those of the main entablature. A signed Tiffany stained glass window was added as a memorial to the soldiers of World War I. The courthouse stands on the property line and the courthouse square is to its side. Here, the courthouse's Confederate soldier monument (1907, F. William Sievers) also includes an image of a classically attired female holding a Confederate flag and is dedicated to the local women of the Confederacy.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Anne Carter Lee
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Citation

Anne Carter Lee, "Washington County Courthouse", [Abingdon, Virginia], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/VA-02-WS1.

Print Source

Cover: Buildings of Virginia vol 2

Buildings of Virginia: Valley, Piedmont, Southside, and Southwest, Anne Carter Lee and contributors. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015, 466-467.

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