SMITHFIELD, Va. — I recently visited the 1750 Isle of Wight County Courthouse and talked with David Hundley, Director of the Board, about the history of the building and its importance to the town of Smithfield and Colonial Williamsburg.
"If there was ever a building you want to walk into and hear the walls talk, this would be the building to do it," says Hundley.
Built in 1750, this was the first building in what would later become Smithfield. It saw British rule, the struggle for independence, and the transition of the new government.
"This is a perfect example of what a colonial courthouse would have looked like in the 1700s. It's very typical in its architectural design," says Hundley.
Hundley tells me, "The story goes that William Rand, who built the building, patterned it from the Capitol Building in Williamsburg. If you've ever been to Williamsburg and walked down Duke of Gloucester Street, the Capitol Building has two rounded walls. We think he liked that architectural feature and included it in our building."
That architectural connection to Williamsburg will be very important almost 200 years later.
"John D. Rockefeller in the 1920s comes to Williamsburg to do his philanthropy work. And the first building he works on is the Capitol Building," explains Hundley.
As his team starts rebuilding the Capitol Building, they get to the roofline and are stuck. They can’t figure out how to build a roof on a rounded wall.
"So, Rockefeller and his team come to Smithfield. They go into the attic of this building and determine how the structure of the rounded wall and the rounded roof make it together," says Hundley.
The 1750 Isle of Wight County Courthouse is located on Main Street in Smithfield.
Save the date! On Saturday, May 18, 2024, you can see a live reenactment of a case from the historical court records.
