Hanover County Courthouse is a historic

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...

located in the community of Hanover Courthouse, the county seat of

Hanover County, Virginia Hanover County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 109,979. Its county seat is Hanover, Virginia, Hanover. Hanove ...

. Built about 1735, it is one of the nation's oldest courthouses still in use for that purpose. It is historically notable as the site of the

Parson's Cause The "Parson's Cause" was a legal and political dispute in the British colony of Virginia often viewed as an important event leading up to the American Revolution. Colonel John Henry, father of Patrick Henry, was the judge who presided over the c ...

case, which was argued by

Patrick Henry Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736 ld Style and New Style dates, O.S. May 18, 1736une 6, 1799) was an American politician, planter and orator who declared to the Virginia Conventions, Second Virginia Convention (1775): "Give me liberty or give m ...

in 1763. It was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1973. A modern courthouse complex stands nearby, which now houses most of the county's judicial functions.

Description and history

The Hanover County Courthouse is located in the center of the small community formally called Hanover Courthouse (but is more colloquially known just as "Hanover"). It is set on a grassy quadrangle on the north side of United States Route 301, with other 18th-century buildings nearby that make up the

Hanover County Courthouse Historic District Hanover County Courthouse Historic District is a national historic district located at Hanover Courthouse, Hanover County, Virginia, USA. The district includes four contributing buildings in the county seat of Hanover Courthouse. They are the ...

. It is a single-story brick building, with a tall hipped roof with modillioned cornice, and three chimneys. It is laid out in a T shape, with the courtroom in the rear-projecting leg of the T, the judge's quarters on the left side, and a jury room on the right. The front of the building is distinguished by an arcade of rounded arches. Hanover County was created in 1720 by the

Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia was a British Empire, British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colo ...

. The courthouse was built about 1735, supposedly by William Meriwether, who also built and operated the original Hanover Tavern, just across the main road. Its design was apparently based on the courthouse of

King William County King William County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,810. Its county seat is King William. King William County is located in the Middle Peninsula and is included in the Greater ...

to the southeast. In 1763,

, who lived and practiced law in Hanover County, argued the case of the

, involving King George III's veto of local legislation changing tax rates for the support of local

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

ministry despite their objections and those of the

House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses () was the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly from 1619 to 1776. It existed during the colonial history of the United States in the Colony of Virginia in what was then British America. From 1642 to 1776, the Hou ...

. Henry, representing the county, accused the King of tyranny in overturning colonial law without regard to the wishes of his subjects. A new modern government complex with two court buildings was built and opened in 1979 adjacent to the 1735 courthouse, which is still actively used for periodic judicial proceedings to alleviate crowded court dockets and also for handling ceremonial events

References

External links

Hanover County Courthouse, U.S. Route 301, Hanover, Hanover County, VA
3 photos at

Historic American Buildings Survey The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

Hanover County website

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20071230132621/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=849&ResourceType=Building National Historic Landmarks Program listing for Hanover County Courthouse {{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia National Historic Landmarks in Virginia County courthouses in Virginia

Courthouse A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...

Government buildings completed in 1735 Georgian architecture in Virginia Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia

Historic American Buildings Survey in Virginia Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Virginia Patrick Henry Brick buildings and structures in Virginia

Description and history

See also

References

External links