Skip to main content

Small Towns of Virginia Series - Charlotte Court House

Image
By
This sleepy little rural town in Central Virginia can easily be overlooked.  Located miles from the Interstate or four lane US and Virginia Highways, Charlotte Court House in many ways is easily forgotten.  However, this tiny town of slightly over 400 residents holds a lot of Virginia and American History.

VA 47 and VA 40 run through Charlotte Court House.
 In 1799, Charlotte Court House saw the passing of the torch from an aging Patrick Henry and a young John Randolph.  The great debate over states' rights was the last for the fiery Henry and the first in public for Randolph.  Randolph would go on to serve in the US House of Representatives and U.S. Minister to Russia.  Henry, who was serving in the Virginia General Assembly representing Charlotte County at the time of the debate, died three months later.
 
Charlotte Court House is not the original name of the town.  Originally named The Magazine, then Daltonsburgh, followed by Marysville (which was the town's name at the time of the Henry-Randolph debate), Smithfield, and finally named Charlotte Courthouse at the turn of the 20th Century.  However, that was not the last name change for the Charlotte County Seat.  In 1989, Charlotte Courthouse became Charlotte Court House, which it remains today.  Fittingly, there are still many listings of 'Charlotte Courthouse' today. 

The Charlotte County Courthouse built in 1823.
Charlotte Court House saw minimal action during the Civil War.  In June 1864, a Union foraging party entered the town after destroying rail lines in nearby Keysville, Meherinn Station and Burkeville Junction.  The brief Union occupation went rather uneventful and many residents were relieved when Union forces did not burn any parts of the town down.

Within the courtyard of the Charlotte County Courthouse sits a Veterans and Confederate Soldiers Memorial.

Today, Charlotte Court House is a charming small village that takes pride in their history.  There are numerous historical building within the town.  In addition to small inns, shops and restaurants.  In recent times, the 1993 movie "Sommersby" was shot here.

A small general store in Charlotte Court House.

Site Navigation:
Labels:

Comments

Unknown said…
OMG! I am moved to see my home town talked about ANYWHERE! I LOVE THIS PLACE! I learned a few things too! Lol. Thank you for doing this.It makes my American heritage feel that much more American!
5:51 PM
Hazel Harrison said…
I grew up 10 miles from CCH. My Mom went to school and graduated from Charlotte High School in 1938 and I graduated from Randolph-Henry High School in 1957. Both of our lives were totally centered in and around this wonderful little town.
3:23 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Huey P. Long Bridge (New Orleans, LA)

By
Located on the lower Mississippi River a few miles west of New Orleans, the Huey P. Long Bridge is an enormous steel truss bridge that carries both road and rail traffic on an old-time structure that is a fascinating example of a bridge that has evolved in recent years to meet the traffic and safety demands of modern times. While officially located in suburban Jefferson Parish near the unincorporated community of Bridge City, this bridge’s location is most often associated with New Orleans, given that it’s the largest and most recognizable incorporated population center in the nearby vicinity. For this reason, this blog article considers the bridge’s location to be in New Orleans, even though this isn’t 100% geographically correct. Completed in 1935 as the first bridge across the Mississippi River in Louisiana and the first to be built in the New Orleans area, this bridge is one of two bridges on the Mississippi named for Huey P. Long, a Louisiana politician who served as the 40th Gove
1 comment
Read more

Paper Highways: The Unbuilt New Orleans Bypass (Proposed I-410)

By
  There are many examples around the United States of proposed freeway corridors in urban areas that never saw the light of day for one reason or another. They all fall somewhere in between the little-known and the infamous and from the mundane to the spectacular. One of the more obscure and interesting examples of such a project is the short-lived idea to construct a southern beltway for the New Orleans metropolitan area in the 1960s and 70s. Greater New Orleans and its surrounding area grew rapidly in the years after World War II, as suburban sprawl encroached on the historically rural downriver parishes around the city. In response to the development of the region’s Westbank and the emergence of communities in St. Charles and St. John the Baptist Parishes as viable suburban communities during this period, regional planners began to consider concepts for new infrastructure projects to serve this growing population.  The idea for a circular freeway around the southern perimeter of t
Post a Comment
Read more

Legacy of US Route 466 Part 5: Old Highway 58 through North Barstow

By
Old Highway 58 is a relinquished portion of what was once US Route 466 in the North Barstow area.  US Route 466 served the North Barstow area from 1933 until it was truncated to Baker during June 1964.  The segment would become the easternmost portion of California State Route 58 which remained as an active highway until 1996 when freeway south of downtown Barstow opened.  Old Highway 58 has numerous remaining Caltrans signs and more or less functions as an alternative northern bypass of downtown Barstow.   US Route 466 can be seen branching from US Route 91 in North Barstow on the 1953 United States Geological Survey Map. Part 1-Part 4 of the US Route 466 Legacy Series can be found below: Legacy of US Route 466 Part 1: California State Route 46 Legacy of US Route 466 Part 2: Tehachapi to Bakersfield  Legacy of US Route 466 Part 3: Morro Bay to Shandon via Rocky Canyon Legacy of US Route 466 Part 4: Hoover Dam Part 1; the history of US Route 466 and California State Route 58 in North B
Post a Comment
Read more