Each day of my recent Jeffersonian tour at Monticello, the Jefferson toast to Lafayette at UVA’s Rotunda, Jefferson Vineyards, and Pippin Hill Farm Vineyards, I saw this building at Court Square from the window of my room at a historic inn. (Stay tuned for the Inn story.)
E. JEFFERSON STREET
Intrigued, I walked across E. Jefferson Street to investigate.
THREE MILES FROM MONTICELLO
Truly, Court Square is only three miles to Monticello, which is exactly how we discovered the historic inn across the street, surrounded by all these other historic buildings.
ALBEMARLE COUNTY COURTHOUSE
Marking the 1803 portion of the Albemarle courthouse…
This 1828 map of Courthouse Square shows the historic buildings that surrounded the the area.
While Albemarle County was established in 1744 from Goochland County and named for the Second Earl of Albemarle, Thomas Jefferson was a baby in nearby Shadwell, living under British rule.
Undergoing several constructions, the courthouse was first built between 1763 and 1781, added to in 1803 and 1860, then remodeled and restored in 1938, during the Colonial Revival Era.
JEFFERSON, MADISON, MONROE
Three young men began their legal careers at this site: Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe.
Often seen here together, they helped form our independent republic, eventually becoming the third, fourth, and fifth presidents of the United States, respectively.
Throughout that time they maintained a close friendship.
TEMPORARY VIRGINIA CAPITOL
Meanwhile this courthouse was been in continuous use, over 200 years, and is the only one in America to be used at the same time by three Founding Fathers, who became presidents at the same time.
Because of this courthouse, William Michie built his tavern on Buck Mountain Road….later to be moved near Monticello.
Briefly, this location served as Virginia’s capital in 1781 when the British chased the legislators (such as Patrick Henry, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Richard Henry Lee, and John Tyler) out of Richmond.
When they heard that the British were descending on Charlottesville, on June 4, 1781, the legislators fled to Staunton, moving Virginia’s government there…while Governor Thomas Jefferson fled for his life!
