NHPS seeking state grant for 1731 courthouse renovation

Pictured: The Debtor’s Prison and 1731 courthouse on the historic Northampton Courthouse Green. Northampton County picture.

The Northampton Historic Preservation Society is applying for a grant from the VA 250 to fund several restoration projects in the historic 1731 Courthouse.

Planned improvements include repainting the interior of the Old Clerk’s Office, installing a brick apron at the base of the Courthouse steps—originally designed in 1914—and upgrading the Exhibit Room and hallway of the 1899 Courthouse. These enhancements are scheduled for 2025 in anticipation of the American Revolution anniversary and an influx of tourists.

The grant application, which requires a current Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Northampton County, must be submitted by October 26, 2024. The Northampton Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the MOU at Tuesday night’s board meeting.

According to a write up by Frances Latimer in 1993, a man named John Marshall built the structure of brick laid up in Flemish bond at the cost of 50,000 pounds of tobacco, which was currency in Virginia at the time. It has been altered somewhat from its original size. The structure was used until 1795 until a newer, larger building was constructed. The 1731 courthouse remained in place until it was moved to its current location to make way for the County’s Confederate Monument in 1913.