Nottoway County’s Roman Revival courthouse is the focal point of its tiny county seat village. Like many of Virginia’s antebellum courthouses, this remarkably sophisticated and visually satisfying work shows the influence of Thomas Jefferson’s architecture on the state’s public buildings. The courthouse was completed in 1843 on the site of the 1798 courthouse that it replaced. Its builder was Branch H. Ellington who incorporated devices favored by Jefferson such as the three-part Palladian scheme, Tuscan portico, triple-hung sash, and carefully crafted Flemish-bond brickwork. The marble sills and lintels add an element of special refinement. Union soldiers bivouacked here on April 5, 1865 during which time many county records were destroyed. The Nottoway County Courthouse, however, especially the exterior, remains remarkably well preserved.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia