King William County Courthouse

My family and I just returned from Williamsburg, Virginia where we enjoyed the traditional “colonial” tourist experiences at Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown along with the rides at Busch Gardens and Water Country USA and the history of The College of William & Mary.

Being a fan of historic road trips as I am, and still trying to sort out that possible family connection with the college, it was a fun experience and we all learned a thing or two. However, one of the more interesting discoveries took place on the way home when we took a shortcut to avoid some of the notorious I-95 traffic.

We stumbled across the King William County Courthouse. Originally constructed in 1725, it’s the oldest courthouse still being used in the United States. Prince William County and the surrounding area was once part of the land used by the Algonquian tribes and led by Powhatan, the father of Pocahontas.

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When we returned home, I spent a little time online and learned the building was built of brick laid in Flemish bond and is considered one of the best examples around of colonial masonry still in existence.

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Click to Enlarge Commemorative plaque dedicated to Henry Fox

In 1702 Henry Fox and Richard Littlepage donated two acres for the courthouse and Fox later became the first sheriff. According to “Genealogies of Virginia,” the home of Fox and his wife, Anne West, was a plantation called Huntington on the Mattaponi River. Although the original location of the house is known, no remnants remain and even the tombstones in the family graveyard are gone. Fox may be gone but he is not forgotten. A commemorative plaque was placed at the courthouse by his descendants at the 250th anniversary celebration of King William County on April 27, 1952.