Court day in early Virginia transformed crossroads towns into
forums for citizens of all social classes to transact a variety of
business, from legal cases heard before the county magistrates to
horse races, ballgames, and the sale and barter of produce,
clothing, food, and drink. As marketplace, playing field, social
center, and administrative and judicial county seat, the courthouse
grounds gave rise to an array of public and private buildings. The
Courthouses of Early Virginia is the first comprehensive history of
the public buildings that formed the nucleus of this space and the
important private buildings that grew up around them.
Carl R. Lounsbury surveys the architectural history of these
buildings, from their undifferentiated forms in 1650 to 1800, when
they had developed into specialized structures that reflected the
growth of a wealthy agricultural society built on slave labor.
After setting the context of legal and social affairs that
conditioned the design, construction, and function of county
government buildings, he examines the example of Yorktown. He then
proceeds with a thematic exploration of issues including the rise
of courthouses of greater civic aspiration and aesthetic ambition,
the public building process, attitudes toward punishment and
prisons, and the role of taverns and clerk's offices in the legal
process. He concludes with a discussion of the evolution of the
courthouse grounds into the broader civic squares that
characterized many Virginia cities and towns by the early
nineteenth century.
With abundant drawings, photographs, and maps and a checklist of
important public buildings in early Virginia, Lounsbury's study
will fascinate and delight architectural historians, architects,
students, and Virginians involved in law and government.
Colonial Williamsburg Studies in Chesapeake History and
Culture
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