Powhatan County (Va.), Public Buildings and Grounds, 1848-1850

Access and use

Location of collection:
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Archives Reference Services
Phone: (804) 692-3888

Summary

Creator:
Powhatan County (Va.) Circuit Court
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

Powhatan County (Va.), Public Buildings and Grounds, 1848-1850. This material consists of contracts, specifications, and vouchers for a one-story Greek Revival courthouse constructed in 1849 from a design attributed to Alexander Jackson Davis. Included are vouchers for interior appointments such as plaster and paint, as well as the furnace. The drawings for the structure (not extant) were supplied by one of the commissioners, Philip St. George Cocke, according to the contract. The drawings are attributed to Davis because he had designed Cocke's home, Belmead, and the Greek forms used in the building's design seem to have been executed by a professional hand.

Biographical / historical:

Powhatan County was named for the paramount chief of the Powhatan Indians in the tidewater of Virginia in the late sixteenth and early years of the seventeenth century. It was formed from Cumberland County in 1777, and part of Chesterfield County was added in 1850. The county seat is Powhatan.

Acquisition information:
This item came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from Powhatan County.
Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
16 pages, 1 leaf