Chapter VII: The Architecture of the Courthouse and Its Related Buildings (1)

1. THE COURTHOUSE COMPLEX

Among the courthouses built in England's North American colonies, those of Virginia developed characteristics which expressed peculiarly well the prevailing patterns of landholding and manner of conducting local government. Unlike New England, where each small community had its frame meeting house, containing within its walls "all the ideals, political, moral, intellectual and religious of the people who attended,"[125] the seats of county government in colonial Virginia were centrally located in rural settings. A few county courthouses grew into regional centers of commerce, industry and finance; but most remained independent and apart from any surrounding community, and some may still be seen today standing "as solitary sentinels, symbolic of government."[126]

It was also characteristic of Virginia that these courthouses were not single buildings, but were complexes of several structures. The typical courthouse compound was enclosed by a brick wall, inside which were a courthouse, a jail, a clerk's office, and, sometimes, a row or cluster of offices for lawyers. Invariably, also, an inn or ordinary occupied a site within the compound or immediately adjacent to it. This style of courthouse may be found through Virginia, dating from earliest colonial times; and, although many fine courthouses are found in the early architecture of Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, none of these areas developed the design concept of a courthouse compound.

This design concept was used in the courthouses of Fairfax County at Springfield (1742-1752) and Alexandria (1752-1800); and it was followed in the county's third courthouse which was completed in 1800. The courthouse tract was situated near the geographical center of the County, at the intersection of the Little River Turnpike and the old Colchester Road. The tract consisted of four acres, acquired by a deed from Richard Ratcliffe and his wife Serian. Specified in the deed were structures including a courthouse, clerk's office and goal, "... and every other building and Machine necessary ..."--the latter presumably referring to gallows, pillory, stocks, and the like. The May 1798 Fairfax County Court Order Book did specify that the courthouse should be forty-by-thirty feet with a twelve-foot portico, the gaol forty-by-twenty, the clerk's office twenty-by-eighteen and covered with slate or tile, a gaoler's house twenty-four-by-eighteen feet, and that stocks, pillory and whipping post also be provided by letting the entire "... building of the same to the lowest bidder."[127]

In accordance with statutory requirements, space was delineated for the prison bounds. This was done in March 1800, and the area was described in a survey and report of the commissioners, as follows:[128]

In obedience to the order of the worshipful Court of this County,
hereunto annexed, we the subscribers in company with Col. William
Payne, the Surveyor of this County, proceeded this thirteenth day
of March Eighteen Hundred, to lay off ten acres of ground for the
prison rules of this County, and have ascertained and bounded the
same by the following meets and boundaries, ... including the said
four acres, the Court house, Gaol, Clerk's office, the brick
Tavern, Kitchen, Stables and store house, and beg leave to report
the same with the plat thereof hereunto also annexed.--Given unto
our hands and seals:

Thomas Gunnell (Seal)
N. Fitzhugh (Seal)
T. Ellzey (Seal)

Whether all of the buildings mentioned in this report actually existed at that time may be questioned, since the survey plat shows only the courthouse, clerk's office and jail. As to these three, the plat showed the courthouse situated as at present, with the clerk's office almost directly south a distance of about 300 feet, and the jail about the same distance south, but in back and west of the clerk's office. The plat does not show roads or other features of the platted parcel, but the known position of the courthouse in relation to the turnpike supports the suggestion that the brick tavern referred to was located on the north side of the turnpike, the building later known variously as the Willcoxen Tavern, the Union Tavern and the Fairfax Tavern. The other buildings referred to in the report apparently left no traces, for except through an occasional glimpse of them in old photographs of the courthouse, they are not noted in the records of the court.

These buildings formed a cluster which, if it was not all neatly enclosed within the courthouse fence, at least was immediately adjacent to and integrated with the activities centered in the court. In the first three decades of the nineteenth century, the town of Providence grew up around the courthouse, and by 1835 some 50 dwellings and 200 residents were listed.[129] But the town never eclipsed the courthouse; and, from its commanding position on the gentle hill at the crossroads, the courthouse itself continues to serve as a focal point and symbol of government.

_The Clerk's Office._ An office for the Clerk of the County Court was mentioned in the survey of the courthouse lot made in March 1800, and was shown on a location south of the courthouse about 200 feet and east of the jail about sixty feet. According to the survey the office was a relatively small building, one or one-and-one-half stories high, with a chimney at the south end and a door opening on the east side. This office was the depository of all important public records in the county, and therefore was a focal point for much of the activity that occurred at the courthouse throughout the year. A news report in the _Alexandria Daily Advertiser_ of February 10, 1806 called for bids for an addition to the clerk's office and repairs on the "public building," all of which should be in accordance with a plan lodged with Col. James Wren, and constructed of brick "covered with slate."[130]

During the next forty years, the functions of the clerk grew in both size and importance as he was called upon to serve both the County court and the circuit court. The need for repairs combined with the need for more space required increasing attention to the old building, until, in 1853, it was determined that a new office building for the clerk must be built. Newman Burke, George W. Hunter, Jr. and Alfred Moss were appointed commissioners to oversee the demolition of the old office building and the construction of a new one.

Fortunately, the commissioners' notice to builders, inviting bids on these jobs, was published in the _Alexandria Gazette and Virginia Advertiser_ of July 15, 1853, and provides a detailed description of the materials and construction to be used. It included the instruction that such of the old materials as could be used in the rebuilding should be so used.

Like the courthouse building, the clerk's office suffered damage and deterioration during the war years of 1861-65. When the courthouse compound became a headquarters for Union army patrols, and civilian government either ceased or moved to a temporary seat elsewhere, care and custody of the clerk's office could not be guaranteed. Many of the record books and files were taken to places of safekeeping in private homes. However, many could not be moved in time to prevent them from being scattered, taken, lost or destroyed as soldiers occupied the office building. When the war ended, the task of re-equipping the office and restoring it to usefulness was a major one.

In 1875, the clerk's office burned and subsequently, a new office building was added to the courthouse complex. It was a two-story brick building, larger than the old clerk's office and located beyond it to the south of the courthouse. It was probably completed by 1881, at which time the board of supervisors was appropriating funds for new furnishings. The architecture of this newest office presented a mixture of three styles. In overall appearance, its square shape, hipped roof and functional design were reminiscent of the eighteenth century buildings of James Wren. The late nineteenth century's preference for exterior decoration was illustrated by a dentiled cornice, a belt of corbelling three courses wide in the brickwork below the cornice, and brick pilasters on each side of the main doorway, topped by scrolls and brackets supporting the pediment. In the center of the building on the second floor, a Palladian-style window was installed, providing a contrast to the design of the other windows. Two courses of corbelling also appeared on the two chimneys located at the back and in the center section of the building. Notwithstanding these exterior decorations, the general design of the office represented a recognition of the needs of office workers and the response of late nineteenth century architects to provide light, air, and functional efficiency in the arrangement of space for offices. Telephone service and electric lights were installed in the clerk's office in 1902.[131]

After 1932, the old clerk's office was demolished. A new office building was erected south of the courthouse in 1934, with labor and materials provided by Federal and Virginia relief funds. This building was demolished when the extensive addition was made to the courthouse, 1951-1954. A new wing was put on the back of the courthouse in 1956 to accommodate the rapidly increasing quantities of archives generated by the business of courts and the clerk's office in a county whose population was growing at an unprecedented rate.[132]

_The Jail._ As shown in the survey of the courthouse tract, made in March 1800 by the County Surveyor, William Payne, the jail was located on the southwestern corner of the original four-acre tract. No contemporary descriptions or records of the jail have survived, but the survey sketch shows a two-story building with chimneys at each end. Presumably the construction material for the jail was brick, since the other principal buildings in the Fairfax courthouse compound were made of this material.

With regard to the interior arrangement and description of major features, conjecture is also necessary. But, again presumptions may be made that its facilities were the same as others of the time--for example, that the bars used on doors and windows were the flat type (rather than round or other shapes), which were laid across each other to form a lattice and riveted together where they overlapped. Also, in accordance with contemporary custom, it may be presumed that the jailor and his family made their home in the same building with the prisoners, and so attended to their meals and other needs.

Exactly when and how the first jail was constructed at the courthouse site is not entirely clear. Payne's survey in 1800 showed a jail building on the site. Yet only nine years later the _Alexandria Daily Advertiser_, April 8, 1809, carried an invitation for bids to build a jail at Fairfax Court House. Moreover, although the records of the county court for the next fifty years contain references to repairs and construction work for the jail, they customarily fail to include descriptions of work to be done. Accordingly, little can be gleaned from these sources to aid the architectural history of the courthouse complex.

Along with the other public buildings at the courthouse compound, the jail suffered during the years of war from 1861 to 1865. When civil government ceased to function at the courthouse, competing groups that claimed civil authority in Fairfax County used jail facilities in neighboring Alexandria and Leesburg when the need arose. During the latter years of the war, when Union troops occupied the courthouse, the jail offered its facilities as a storehouse as well as a place of detention for military prisoners. But the Army of the Potomac had little time or incentive to keep the jail in good repair, and so, like the courthouse, it suffered extensively from the war.

During the 1870's, repairs and construction of additions to the original building restored the jail to service. The 1879 G. M. Hopkins _Atlas_ showing the courthouse complex depicts the jail as being larger than the courthouse in size. In 1884, fire destroyed this building, and arrangements had to be made to use the Alexandria city jail until a proper new jail could be constructed for the county.[133]

The new jail was located directly behind (west of) the courthouse, facing onto the Little River Turnpike. Its materials and construction indicate that the original portion was added to on two later occasions. When finally completed, the jail was a two-story T-shaped brick building, with a one-story wooden porch across the full length of the front. In the original section (facing onto the turnpike) the windows have plain wooden pediments. The cornice and chimney tops are corbelled, and there are iron cresting and finials on the ridge of the hipped roof. In the second section, which forms part of the stem of the "T," there are segmental arches over the windows and an ornamental cornice consisting of a course of bricks laid vertically. In the third section, which completes the stem of the "T," the brickwork is laid in Flemish bond (matching the courthouse brickwork in contrast to the common bond of the rest of the jail), and the windows are topped with flat arches. The second and third parts of the building are covered with a gable roof.[134]

In this new jail building, the jailor had living quarters in the front portion, and until 1948 these were used as his residence. The building itself ceased to be used for detention of prisoners shortly after that time, for when the addition to the courthouse was completed in 1956, jail facilities were incorporated into this addition. Since 1956, the old jail building has been used for offices of various county agencies, including the juvenile court and probation office, civil defense office, fire board, police dispatcher, and recreation department.[135]

_Associated Buildings and Structures._ Certain structures were associated with the courthouse because they were required by statute, and others had their origin in custom and convenience. In 1792, when the legislature of the new state government revised the law relating to organization of the local courts, it reenacted most of the features of the system which had been followed in colonial times. By law all counties had to build and maintain a courthouse, jail, pillory, whipping post, and stocks. This law also required that there be two acres of land around the buildings of the courthouse, and that prison bounds of ten acres should be provided for the "health and exercise of prisoners."[136] A report of a survey of the courthouse tract in March 1800 shows metes and bounds for a four-acre tract within a larger ten-acre area, and states that this land was for the purpose of erecting a courthouse, jail, clerk's office, kitchen, stable, and storehouse plus providing an area to serve as the prison bounds. Additionally, a well was dug a short distance south of the courthouse. Altogether, these comprised the complex of structures associated with the court in the first half of the nineteenth century.

_The Tavern._ The brick tavern was a substantial building, built on the north side of the Little River Turnpike directly across from the courthouse complex. No detailed description of this building as it appeared in 1800 has been found. It was, at least in later years, a multi-story building which rivalled the courthouse in size, and expanded as the patronage of the circuit-riding judges and their entourages of attorneys and others combined with the regular passage of travellers on the Little River Turnpike to create a prosperous business climate.

After the Civil War, the brick tavern was purchased by Col. H. B. Taylor, who operated it during the 1870's and 1880's. Because of its favorable location near the courthouse, the tavern continued to be frequented by those who had business with the court, and lawyers maintained their offices there. An advertisement in the _Fairfax Herald_ of April 8, 1887 refers to the building as the Union Hotel, and describes it as a three-story brick building with annex, containing about twenty-five rooms, with stable and outbuildings, a two-acre garden and a fine well--"a desirable residence for summer boarders." Later in 1887 the name was changed from Union Hotel to Fairfax Hotel and its management was taken over by James W. Burke.[137]

The hotel continued to be operated until 1932 when it was demolished to clear the site for subsequent construction of a building for the National Bank of Fairfax. The bricks, mantels and doors from the hotel were re-used in construction of the home of Helen Hill and Francis Pickens Miller, called "Pickens Hill." It is located on Chain Bridge Road north of Fairfax, and in recent years has become a major building of the Flint Hill private school complex.

_The Well._ At the time of construction of the courthouse, a well was dug on the south side of the building. Over the years, pictures show a variety of overhead coverings to shelter the well and its users. The well was a large one, appearing to be four or five feet in diameter at the top, and was surrounded by a raised platform. Standing on this platform, one drew water from the well by a windlass operated by a hand-crank. Later the box on which the windlass was mounted was fitted with a hand pump, and a trough for filling buckets or other containers was placed at the side of the well. This well served the courthouse into the twentieth century, but was closed and capped when the town of Fairfax installed underground water mains. The gazebo-like well structure was moved to Sully.

"_Public Comfort Station._" Many references to the early privies in use on the courthouse grounds appear in both the court order books and the board of supervisors minute books. As recently as 1931, outside toilets were still in use. In October of that year, "the County Engineer was instructed to make necessary repairs to the public comfort station on the Court House lawn."[138]

_MEMORIALS_

_Memorials of the Wars._ On the lawn in front of the old courthouse stand two monuments to the honored dead of four wars. The John Quincy Marr monument was erected on June 1, 1904, by the Marr Camp, Confederate Veterans, commemorating the first Confederate officer killed in the Civil War. The second monument was erected under the auspices of the Fairfax County Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. On a bronze plaque on one side are listed those Fairfax Countians who gave their lives in World War I and on the other, a plaque listing those who gave their lives in World War II and the Korean conflict.

Two naval cannons stand on either side of the Marr monument, pointed toward the National Bank of Fairfax, formerly the site of the brick tavern. Facing the bank, the cannon on the left is inscribed with an anchor and the following lettering: 12 PDR Boat Howitzer 1856 J.A.D. U.S.N.Y. Washington 757 LBS. 58 PRE No. 45. The cannon on the right has inscriptions which are very worn and indistinct. There is an engraved anchor, but except for a letter here-and-there, the inscription is unreadable.

_Plaques and Portraits._ Mounted in the inside north entrance hall beside the oldest portion of the courthouse are three plaques. One is a tablet with 160 names of Civil War veterans of Marr Camp, Confederate States of America. The second is a memorial to George Auld (1832-1919), born in Scotland, who "was for many years Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Fairfax County, Virginia...." The third is a plaque commemorating the building of the first addition to the courthouse, A.D. 1929, W. I. Deming, Architect, and C. H. Brooks, Builder. In the central entrance hall, there is a bronze plaque commemorating the large addition to the courthouse completed in 1954, Robert A. Willgoos and Dwight G. Chase, Architects, and Eugene Simpson and Bro., Contractor. A large mural, painted by Esther L. Stewart in 1954, is hung above the landing of the grand central staircase. It depicts Fairfax County scenes, buildings, and portraits of Lord Fairfax, George Washington, and George Mason.

On the brick floor of the arcaded porch of the first (1800) section of the courthouse, is a National Register plaque (1974 listing) placed by the Fairfax County History Commission in 1976. In the hall inside hangs a plaque from the Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission commemorating the building's placement on the State Register in 1973.

Hanging on the walls of this oldest court chamber are oil portraits of county notables. (See Appendix for biographical listing.)

On the courthouse lawn, a dogwood tree was planted in 1954 dedicated to the firemen of Fairfax County. A small bronze plaque with a poem and the dedication was set in a cement post under the tree, by the Firemen's Auxiliary.

In the wake of its many unresolved historical mysteries, the restored courthouse remains a functional courtroom, as required by the terms authorizing the work. Yet it cannot claim to represent any particular period of Fairfax County's history with full historical or architectural integrity. As now redesigned and rebuilt, the courthouse presents an outward appearance presumably similar to its original form. The interior achieves the pleasant appearance and atmosphere of a working courtroom of the past.

NOTES FOR CHAPTER VII

[125] Catherine Fennelly, _The New England Village Scene: 1800_, (Sturbridge: Old Sturbridge Village, 1955), p. 9.

[126] Sidney Hyman, "Empire of Liberty" in _With Heritage So Rich_, (New York: Random House, 1966), pp. 5-6.

[127] Fairfax County Deed Book, B-2, pp. 373-377; 503-504.

[128] Fairfax County, Record of Surveys, 1742-1856, p. 93.

[129] Joseph Martin, _Gazetteer of Virginia and the District of Columbia_, (Charlottesville: Martin, 1835), p. 168.

[130] Fairfax County, Record of Surveys, Section II, p. 93, March 13, 1800.

[131] Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Minute Book, #1, pp. 89, 91, 196, 206 (1871-1881).

[132] Interview with Thomas Chapman, Jr., former Clerk of the Circuit Court; Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Minute Book #6, pp. 580-582, August 20, 1934; architectural drawings, 1951-1956, Facilities Management Office.

[133] Fairfax County Court Minute Book, 1882-1885, April Court, 1884, "The County Jail having been destroyed by fire ...," the county court ordered that Alexandria city jail be used until a proper jail could be erected in the county.

[134] Fairfax County Court Minute Book, June Court, 1891.

[135] Interview with Thomas P. Chapman, Jr.

[136] Hening, _Statutes_, October 1792, XIII, 453-455.

[137] _Fairfax Herald_, May 13, 1887, notes that Mr. T. R. Sangster has removed his law office to the Fairfax Hotel; The Union Hotel and Fairfax Hotel sometimes have been assumed to be separate buildings. However, identical advertisements of this hotel appeared in the _Fairfax Herald_ on April 8, 1887 and May 6, 1887, the former calling it the Union Hotel, and the latter calling it the Fairfax Hotel. The April 29, 1887 _Fairfax Herald_ reports the rental of the Union Hotel by Burke. By tradition, the hotel building across from the courthouse has been known as the Willcoxen Tavern or just simply "The Tavern."

[138] Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Minute Book, #6 p. 139, October 2, 1931.

2. THE COURTHOUSE

_The Courthouse Plan and Its Architect._ The design of the Fairfax County Courthouse followed the Virginia tradition that the seats of civil government should be designed with dignity as well as adequacy for their function.[139] Consequently, the courthouse building, which in other respects was a plain rectangular two-story brick structure, departed from strict utilitarian design with its open arcade on the ground floor front, and its cupola in the center of the roof, serving as a base for the flag pole and housing the bell which was used to announce the convening of court.

The advantages of the two-story building for innovations in design and decoration were even more evident with respect to the interior. Entered through the front door which opened into the arcade, the courtroom gave the same impression of vaulted space that is associated with the nave of a church.[140] The space over the arcade on the second floor was enclosed, and presumably used as the jury room. This room was entered from a balcony located across the front of the building (the back of the court chamber) and along each side of the building. At the front of the chamber (as it appeared in the late nineteenth century) was a raised bench, and directly to the left of the judge's seat was a doorway leading into a pair of rooms used by the Court.

No descriptions of the interior of the courtroom as it appeared in the early part of the nineteenth century have been found; but it is probably that the business of the court was transacted, as it had been since early colonial times, at a large table, centered in the main chamber of the courthouse and spacious enough to seat the justices of the County Court and the sheriff, if the business of the day concerned him. One or more separate tables customarily were provided for the clerk of the court and those of his staff who attended the court session. It was also customary to separate the portion of the courtroom occupied by the Court from that occupied by the public, and this was accomplished by installation of a wooden railing or partition. Fireplaces heated the courtroom chamber and a second-floor fireplace heated the jury room above the open arcade. Details of the plastering and woodwork, the lighting fixtures and other hardware are not known, yet it seems certain they must have been of good taste and design, for their selection was in accordance with a plan prepared by James Wren, the designer of The Falls Church, Christ Church in Alexandria, and probably Pohick Church.

Although James Wren's name appears frequently in the public records of Fairfax County during the eighteenth century, his principal legacy was the architecture he designed and helped to build. In the 1760's references to him are found throughout the Vestry Books of Truro Parish and Fairfax Parish.[141] In 1763 he prepared the plans for construction of The Falls Church, which formed the nucleus of the village which grew up around it. In 1767 he designed the plans for Christ Church in Alexandria. Wren and William Weit were each paid forty shillings in 1769 for plans furnished to the vestry, for Pohick Church.[142] He had, through design of these and other structures, earned a reputation as the foremost builder and designer of buildings in his locality[143]--a reputation attested to by numerous contracts, recorded in the Fairfax County Court Order Books, under which young men were apprenticed to him to learn the "trade sciences or occupation of a Carpenter and Joiner."

According to Melvin Lee Steadman's genealogy of the Wren family,[144] James Wren was born in King George County about 1728, the son of John Wren and Ann Turner Wren. He learned his trade of carpentry and joining there, and about 1755 he moved to Truro Parish, Fairfax County. The first reference to James Wren in the land records of Fairfax County is found in a deed dated June 15, 1756 in which one James Scott conveyed to Wren a tract of 200 acres on which Wren was then living. Ultimately, Wren built a home, now called "Long View," adjacent to the present city of Falls Church, and assembled a substantial plantation, known as "Winter Hill," now within Falls Church City. He also operated, at Winter Hill, "Colo. Wren's Tavern."

James Wren served as a justice of the County Court. He was a trustee of the Town of Turberville which in 1798 was laid off on land near the Little Falls of the Potomac but never fulfilled the hopes of its promoters. Following his military service in the Revolutionary War he held various offices in the County government, including that of sheriff and commissioner of the tax. He acquired extensive landholdings in Fairfax and Loudoun Counties. James Wren was married three times; first, in 1753, to Catherine Brent of Overwharton Parish (Aquia Church); next, about 1771-74 to Valinda Wade, and last, to Sarah Jones of Alexandria in 1804. He died in 1815 and was buried at Long View.[145]

The architecture which James Wren created for the courthouse--as well as his churches and the numerous private buildings he designed and built under contract or for his friends--reflect the general level to which that art had advanced in colonial Virginia. The styles were adapted from prototypes in England.[146] Innovations which were made in adapting these styles to American use were, in most instances, attributable to the differences in building materials and the types of skilled labor which were available to the American builder.

_The Origin of the Courthouse Design._ The architectural design which James Wren selected for the Fairfax County Courthouse utilized several features which already were familiar hallmarks of public buildings in colonial Virginia, and in particular the colonial capitol at Williamsburg--probably the most impressive public building in Virginia at that time. The use of brick as building material, the use of two stories, topped by a cupola, and, most strikingly, the use of arches, all combined to suggest the influence of this capitol building on the courthouse design.[147] The courthouse was far from being a copy of the capitol and Wren added to these familiar features several new ones that made the courthouse an architectural innovation in its own right. When it was completed in 1800, the Fairfax County Courthouse was the first example of a new design which architectural historians have called "the town hall style,"[148] and have traced to English town halls of the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Like the Fairfax County Courthouse, these town halls were two-story brick or stone buildings which presented to their front a gable-end, ground-floor arcade (or piazza) covering the main opening onto the street, an entrance set into the end wall, and, frequently, a cupola. The town halls of Blandford in Dorset (1734), and Amersham in Buckinghamshire (1682) illustrate these features with variations of details.

No documentary evidence has been found to show how James Wren evolved his design for the Fairfax County Courthouse; but it seems probable that he knew of this style that was enjoying current popularity in England, and that John Bogue, the "undertaker" who built the courthouse, was familiar with the methods of constructing such buildings, for Bogue had just come to America from England in 1795.

While the similarity of geometric and structural exterior design strongly suggests that the Fairfax County Courthouse had its architectural ancestry in the English town halls of that period, the analogy is weaker when functions are compared. The courthouse for Fairfax County was designed and used entirely as the seat of local government. The commercial activity that was attracted to the courthouse site on "court days" enjoyed no special privileges or facilities in the building. In contrast, town halls in eighteenth century England often served the dual purpose of providing a facility for transaction of public business and carrying on the commerce of the community. The style of the English town halls provided space in the open arcade of the ground floor to house a farmers' and tradesmen's market, and space in the second floor chamber for the town council to meet and do its work.[149]

The origin of this type of building is not entirely clear. It is difficult to imagine it growing naturally in the political and social climate of the villages which grew up clustered around England's medieval castles and monasteries. At the time when town-and-market halls were common in the central squares of free towns in Italy, Germany and the Low Countries, they were absent in England. Their appearance in England dates from the seventeenth century when town government developed its own identity, and when British political and cultural alliances with the Dutch were established.[150]

Imported to Virginia as a form of courthouse building, this town hall style became a popular prototype for buildings erected in several counties during the first three decades of the nineteenth century. After being introduced in Fairfax County in 1800, this style appears in the Nelson County Courthouse built in 1807, the Caroline County Courthouse built in 1808, the Sussex County Courthouse built 1825-28, and the Madison County Courthouse built 1829-30. Variations in the layout of the interior appeared in the use of the space over the arcade; sometimes it was used for the jury room, and at other times it was used to accommodate a balcony for spectators.[151] After 1824, however, a new style of courthouse building may be seen in the public buildings of Virginia counties. Based on the neo-classical lines of the State Capitol, designed by Thomas Jefferson, there came into being a series of courthouses which were suggestive, if not actual, representations of the seat of state government.[152]

_The Courthouse._ In its exterior appearance the Fairfax County Courthouse underwent little change during the first century of its service. Indeed, looking at the courthouse square in 1900, it might have seemed that the courthouse was the only building that had not been rebuilt, relocated or significantly expanded. The effects of passing time were more evident in the evolution of the layout and furnishings of the court.

Throughout the first half of the nineteenth century the interior of the courthouse probably remained similar to the layout described in colonial times. Generally the focal point of the court chamber was a long table at which the County Court was seated, flanked by smaller tables where the court's clerks did their work. Customarily, also, a railing across the room separated this space from visitors whose business or curiosity led them to crowd in upon the court and its staff. As long as the gentlemen justices of the court were in reality, as well as name, the governing authority of the County, this arrangement of the courthouse chamber was the most sensible that could be suggested.

As the purely judicial duties were isolated and assigned to the professional judges of the District Court it became customary to renovate the court rooms to install the features which have become associated with litigation--the raised bench of the judge, the jury box, the witness stand, and counsels' tables.

These changing ideas of what a court chamber should look like became established during the first half of the nineteenth century, and were reflected in the courthouses built in Virginia during that period. Therefore, when the Fairfax County Courthouse was restored to service after the Civil War, its interior design resembled that which was customary for judicial chambers.[153]

That the task of renovation and restoration was extensive is indicated by a report in the _Alexandria Gazette_ of October 17, 1862 stating that "The interior of the courthouse of Fairfax County has been entirely destroyed. Nothing remains of the building but the walls and the roof." Moreover, the work of renovation had to be carried out under the double difficulty of shortages of funds and labor that was skilled in cabinetmaking and metalworking. In the end, the restoration of the courthouse was a gradual process in which first one and then another improvement was added. No grand design seems to have been followed or a complete record of accomplishments maintained. Hence, evidence of the courthouse furnishings is seen in such separate notations in the Court Minute Books as follow:

October Court, 1866.

Ordered that the Com. of Public Buildings be instructed to
purchase enough green-baise to cover the table in the bar And have
it covered before the Circuit Court commenses.[154]

December 11, 1876.

Ordered that the Com'r of Public Buildings have the sawdust
removed from the floor of the Courtroom, and have said floor
covered with a substantial cocoa matting at the expense of the
Court.[155]

December Court, 1882.

... Some person or persons have entered the Court House Building
in the night, without authority and have damaged Said building and
have greatly annoyed the citizens living nearby by violently
ringing the bell. It is therefore ordered by the Court, that such
trespass ... will be punished to the full extent of the law.[156]

The bell referred to by the Court was a standard feature of many Virginia courthouses, and was rung to announce the convening of court sessions. In the Fairfax County Courthouse, the bell was hung in a cupola on the roof, and rung with a bell-pull passing through the building's attic to the balcony level of the courtroom.[157]

A major change in the appearance of the courtroom occurred with the installation of wooden benches in the public section of the chamber. Tradition holds that the benches had been pews at one time in Jerusalem Baptist Church located on the Ox Road between Fairfax and Fairfax Station. This church had been built on the site of the old colonial "Payne's Church."

Illustrating the period when gaslights replaced candles, an elaborate brass chandelier fitted for gas illumination has been found in the courthouse attic. It is possibly the fixture which the sheriff was directed at the February 1890 court to purchase, for a price not to exceed $25.00. In about 1902, electric lights were installed.[158]

During the restoration of the courthouse following the Civil War one major alteration of the exterior appearance of the courthouse occurred when the brickwork between the windows on the first and second floors was removed to change the windows into single two-story-long vertical openings. The courthouse windows remained this way until 1968 when renovation of the original section of the courthouse was carried out, and double rows were reestablished as they appeared in photographs taken during the Civil War.

Reportedly, another major refurbishment of the courtroom occurred about 1920. In keeping with the style of that time, the emphasis was on panelling with dark, polished woods, and moderately ornamental carving which achieved an appearance of massiveness and dignity. The judge's bench was located at the west end of the courtroom on a raised platform and behind a heavy wooden balustrade. Against the west wall of the room and behind the judge's bench, wooden panelling covered the space from the southwest corner of the room to a doorway beside the bench which led into smaller chambers in the rear. This panelling was topped with a swan's neck pediment behind the judge's chair. At floor level, beside the judge's bench and behind the balustrade, were the witness stand and clerk's desk.

The jury box was located along the south wall of the room and faced an enclosure where tables for counsel and reporters were placed. These, in turn, were separated from the public seats by a carved wooden balustrade. Seating for the public on the ground floor was provided in two sections of wooden benches--the former church pews referred to earlier--separated by a center aisle. At the rear of this section was another balustrade setting it apart from the open space inside the door to the entrance arcade. The two fireplaces in the corners of the east end of the room were bricked-in and covered with plaster.

On the south wall, a stairway provided access to the balcony over the open portion of the room adjacent to the outer entrance. From the rear of the balcony were doorways into a jury room and small office which occupied the second-floor space over the entrance arcade. Three rows of benches, each raised one step above the one in front, provided additional seating space for visitors in the balcony. The ceiling of the courtroom was sheet metal (tin) with a pattern of ridges arranged in rectangular shapes. Central heating was provided by hot water radiators.

In 1929, an addition was constructed on the south side at the rear of the original courthouse, making an L-shaped building. In this process the clerk's office which was built in 1876 was torn down. Harmony of scale, materials and style were maintained between the old and new sections.[159]

Twenty years later, in 1951-56, the courthouse again was expanded by addition of a center block, and another wing identical with the original and first addition segments. At the rear (west side) of these new portions, two wings were added to house, respectively, the records of the clerk's office and a new, larger jail. With the completion of this construction, the old courtroom in the original wing of the building ceased to be used regularly for judicial business. Two large courtrooms and several smaller chambers in the center block of the building provided facilities for hearing cases. The new and larger building also provided space for the offices of the County's elected officials and most of the major boards, commissions and administrative departments which comprised the county's government in the 1950's.[160]

In both exterior and interior appearance, the courthouse additions of 1931 and 1954 were designed to harmonize with the original style James Wren established in 1800. The use of brick, gable-end roof lines, proportioning of the scale of various segments of the building, compatible fenestration and colonial period styles in hardware and painting all contributed to this result. Most influential of all in maintaining this architectural integrity, perhaps, was the use of archways and open arcades at the entrances to the center block and two wings. These open arcades, with their simple, undecorated keystone arches are the distinguishing features of the Fairfax County Courthouse in the 1970's as they were in 1800.

NOTES--2. THE COURT HOUSE

[139] William O'Neal, _Architecture in Virginia_, (New York: Walker, 1968), p. 17, remarks that "Traditionally, in Virginia buildings housing civil government have been developed beyond the utilitarian. This tradition, of course, has given us not only a remarkable group of eighteenth and nineteenth century courthouses, but, just yesterday, the very beautiful City Hall complex of Norfolk by Vincent King."

[140] _University of Virginia Newsletter_, (Charlottesville: Institute of Government, University of Virginia), XLIII, No. 11, (July 15, 1967).

[141] A summary of these references is contained in Melvin Steadman, _Falls Church by Fence and Fireside_, (Falls Church, Va.: Falls Church Public Library, 1964), pp. 463-520.

[142] O'Neal, _Virginia Architecture_, pp. 127, 133, 143, _Minutes of the Vestry, Truro Parish, Virginia_, 1732-1785, (Lorton, Va.: Pohick Church, 1974), p. 114.

[143] Steadman, _Falls Church_, p. 471.

[144] The genealogy and a summary history of the Wren family, both in England and America, is in Steadman, _Falls Church_, pp. 463-520.

[145] Janice Artemel, "James Wren, Gentleman Joiner," (unpublished manuscript, Falls Church, Va., 1976).

[146] According to Sir Banister Fletcher, _A History of Architecture_, Rev. ed., (New York: Scribners, 1963), p. 1126, "In general, the architecture of a particular area mirrored that of the homeland of the colonizers or settlers of that area, with modifications occasioned by climate, the types of building material obtainable, and the quality of labour available. Thus, in seventeenth century New England building followed the pattern of English weather-boarded heavy timber-frame prototypes, while in eighteenth century Virginia we find a 'Georgian' architecture often almost indistinguishable from that of eighteenth century England."

[147] Carl Feiss, "Court Houses of Virginia," lecture delivered at the meeting of the Latrobe (Washington) Chapter, Society of Architectural Historians, held at the Arts Club of Washington, November 8, 1968.

[148] Marcus Whiffen, "The Early Courthouses of Virginia," _Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians_, XVIII, No. 1 (March 1959), pp. 2, 5-6.

[149] Thus the term "market hall" is sometimes also used to designate these buildings. At times, the market activities may even overshadow the building's associations with government, as in the case of Blandford, Dorset, where a sign on the building identifies it as the Corn Exchange, without mention of the Council's chamber.

[150] Sir Kenneth Clark, in his book, _Civilisation_. (New York: Harper & Row, 1969), pp. 194-220, describes the impact of Dutch accomplishments in the arts, and the impact of their influence on such Englishmen as Christopher Wren.

The adoption of the Dutch style of market hall in England may well have been a gradual one, utilizing the already familiar design of the house of a typical town tradesman, which presented to the street a series of arched openings where work was done and wares were displayed during the day. At night these arches were shuttered, and the tradesman had his living quarters on the second floor over his shop. Sir Banister Fletcher, _A History of Architecture_, (New York: Scribners, 1961), p. 463.

[151] Whiffen, "Early Courthouses," p. 6.

[152] William O'Neal, _Architecture in Virginia_, (New York: Walker, 1968), pp. 22-25.

[153] Whiffen, "Early Courthouses," p. 3.

[154] Fairfax County Court Minute Book, 1863-1867, p. 484.

[155] Fairfax County Court Minute Book, 1875-1879, p. 162.

[156] Fairfax County Court Minute Book, 1882-1885, p. 34.

[157] Examination of the courthouse attic in July 1967 revealed a bell, complete with mounting and wheel, with the following inscription: "TW & RC SMITH ALEXANDRIA 1844." It has not been determined when this bell was installed in or removed from the cupola. It was rehung in the cupola and rung again in 1976.

[158] Examination of the courthouse attic in July 1967 revealed a brass chandelier with six arms, approximately 24 inches long, fixed to a central hub. Burners at the end of each arm were fitted to hold glass globes or lamp chimneys. Fairfax County Court Minute Book, 1888-1892, p. 216. The end of the gaslight era occurred shortly after 1900, when, according to Thomas Chapman, former Clerk of Circuit Court, electric lights were installed in the clerk's office in 1902 and shortly thereafter in the courtroom.

[159] Interview with Thomas Chapman, former Clerk of Circuit Court.

[160] Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Minute Books, No. 17, p. 4, November 21, 1949; No. 18, pp. 2-9, November 15, 1950, pp. 296-298, May 22, 1951.

3. RESTORATION OF THE ORIGINAL WING OF THE COURTHOUSE, 1967

_Origin of the Restoration Project._ After the second addition to the courthouse was completed in 1954, the old courtroom in the original wing of the building ceased to be the focal point of the court's activity. Similarly, it ceased to receive the attention needed to deal with the natural deterioration produced by use and the passage of time. By the early 1960's these effects were evidenced by leaking roofs, unreliable plumbing in the heating system, cracked and crumbling plaster, loosened floors and hardware, and the like. In order to retain its usefulness, the original wing of the courthouse needed substantial renovation.

At this time, an interest in the old courtroom was expressed by the Fairfax County Bar Association and the county's newly formed Historical Landmarks Preservation Commission which together proposed that the work of renovation be done in such a way as to restore the original appearance of the courtroom. The Bar Association formed a Special Committee for Restoration of the Old Court Room under the chairmanship of C. Douglas Adams, Jr., and the assistance of the Board of Supervisors was sought.[161]

In December 1964, the Board appropriated funds for developing a restoration plan. Walter Macomber, a local restoration architect who had done similar work on a number of early Virginia landmarks, was retained to prepare the necessary plans. In March 1966, the Bar Association's Committee reported the completion of this preliminary work to the Board, and successfully secured the latter's approval together with an appropriation of $90,000 for actual construction work. This work was commenced without further delay and was completed in the spring of 1967.[162]

_Problems of the Restoration._ While the work undertaken in 1965 and 1966 was at the time referred to as a restoration, it was in fact impossible under the circumstances to reproduce with complete accuracy the appearance of the courthouse in 1800. No descriptions of the courtroom or other records of building specifications had been found; nor was any special research in eighteenth century sources undertaken for this purpose. As a result, the work produced a courtroom with idealized colonial-period interior design and furnishings in a building shell with reconstructed floor plan and structural design of the early Federal-period (during which it had initially been built). Numerous difficult problems were faced in this reconstruction, and, for the most part, they were resolved in ways that served primarily to create a room with the atmosphere of Virginia's colonial period, and secondarily to build an authentic replica of the Fairfax courthouse as of any particular historical date.

An initial problem connected with the exterior alterations was that of securing bricks and mortar to match those of the original courthouse. Bricks secured from a manufacturer of specialty bricks turned out to be a close match for the originals which were thought to have been fired from clay dug in Fairfax County.[164] Specially mixed mortar made from sand, lime and white cement also closely simulated the color and texture of the older mortar. Bricks were laid in Flemish bond which matched the courthouse and part of the old jail building.

Using these new materials, broken and crumbling bricks were replaced throughout the building, and the three long windows on both the north and south sides of the courthouse were altered to form two rows of smaller windows, with the space between the first and second-floor rows filled with new brickwork. This change in the fenestration restored the building to its appearance as shown in Civil War photographs of the courthouse. Shutters similar to those shown in the same pictures were added to the windows on both floors.

On the roof, some repairs were needed to restore the slate shingles. In the cupola, wooden louvres were repaired, the cupola was painted, and a weathervane restored to the top. An existing galvanized sheet metal roof was allowed to remain unchanged.

For the inside of the building there were no photographs or drawings of the earlier periods, and reconstruction was influenced largely by physical evidence disclosed as the interior was systematically dismantled down to the building's outer shell. When woodwork, hardware, plaster and flooring were removed, it was found that much of the framing timber was infested by termites, and had to be replaced. In this process numerous signs of earlier workmanship were revealed.

Beneath the existing tin-plate ceiling was a plastered ceiling and remnants of a painted frieze of red, yellow, blue and green. Behind this ceiling were laths laid over hand-hewn oak rafters. A few of the original hand-split laths and hand-made nails remained in this ceiling. In its reconstruction, the ceiling was furred and replastered without any decoration. No lathwork was found on the side walls, and in the reconstruction fresh plaster was applied directly to the bricks.[165]

The flooring which was removed from the central section of the courtroom sloped from the back (east end) of the room toward the judge's bench (at the west end). Beneath this floor was an older floor of brick. It was not determined whether this brick work had been the original floor of the courtroom or whether another wooden floor had overlaid it prior to the one just removed. In its reconstruction, however, the architect specified that a flat floor of polished pine should be laid over the bricks.[166]

In one part of the main floor the older brick work was allowed to remain exposed. This was in the vicinity of the fireplaces in the two corners of the open area at the rear (east end) of the courtroom. These two fireplaces were reopened and restored and their brickwork was extended to form spacious hearthstones.

The corner fireplaces showed signs of a three-stage evolution. They were originally used as open fireplaces. Holes in the brickwork above them suggested, however, that at some later time the open fireplaces were replaced by wood-burning or coal-burning stoves standing on the brick hearths with their stovepipes fitted into the chimneys. Finally, when the stoves were replaced by central heating and hot water radiators, the entire fireplace wall was sealed with brick and plastered over. In their restoration the corner fireplaces were reopened and refurbished as they were thought to have appeared in their original condition.

As the side walls were cleared of plaster, they showed signs of staircases from the ground level the balcony along the north as well as the south side of the courtroom. Thus when the stairs along the south wall were replaced, a similar set of stairs was built and installed on the north side of the courtroom. No dates for the original installation or removal of these staircases were determined, and it was presumed that the dual staircases were part of the original design of the courthouse.

A more difficult puzzle was presented by a series of holes in the outer wall aligned at the level of the balcony and about the size used for beams. Speculation by the architect suggested that these holes might have been intended for use in extending the balcony along three sides of the courtroom instead of merely along the back end, or in covering the entire room and creating a full second story for the courthouse. No determination of their use was made, and they were disregarded in the reconstruction of the courtroom.

Still another mystery which was not solved in the restoration concerned the two chimneys located in the corners at the west end of the old courtroom. No fireplaces or hearthstones were found in the courtroom floor, and when the interior was dismantled it was discovered that the chimneys rested on beams above the courtroom ceiling. These chimneys were not utilized in reconstructing the courtroom, and the only suggestion offered was that they probably had been connected by long pipes to stoves in the room below.[167]

Two doors in the west wall of the courtroom on either side of the judge's bench presented a further problem since they were not part of the original 1800 building, but had been part of the addition built in 1929. One of these doors led into a set of judge's chambers and the other (in one corner) opened into a corridor leading to the main portion of the addition running south from the old courthouse. In the restoration these doors were retained, but fitted inconspicuously into the panelling behind the judge's bench. Above the doors, the architect restored two windows which he felt had been part of the original building.[168]