The History of the City of Fredericksburg, VirginiaQuinn, S. J. (Silvanus Jackson)
History
The History of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia
Quinn, S. J. (Silvanus Jackson)
Fredericksburg (Va.) -- History
It was while the colored man was awaiting a trial, and afterwards the
action of the Governor, that it was claimed he contracted a disease, of
which he died soon after his liberation. Upon this report of the grand
jury the court ordered the small, brick jail torn down and a new one of
stone to be erected in its place. This new building was completed in 1805,
when Wm. Taylor was appointed by the court and ordered to "sell the brick
and other materials of the old jail in this corporation on a credit of
sixty days and make return to this court."
This jail stood on Princess Ann street, just north of the present clerk's
office, and, long before it was torn down and removed, was "an eye-sore to
the public," and especially to those who lived in that locality. In 1851,
when it was decided to build a new courthouse, it was also decided to move
the jail. This was a joint action of the court and Common Council, and it
met with serious opposition by many of the tax-payers, on the ground that
it was a waste of public money, the present jail being all that was
needed.
But the order was given, and the jail was torn down and rebuilt in rear of
the courthouse, the public scales, which stood on the spot, to be "moved
to some more convenient place." The most of the stone in the old jail was
placed in the new one, but a portion of it was taken for the foundation of
the fence, which, until some six years ago, enclosed the courthouse yard
and sustained the wall on George street and in Jail alley. The present
granite alignment of the courthouse lot is a great improvement on the old
iron fence.
THE COURTHOUSE.
The first courthouse the town had was built on a part of the ground
occupied by the present building and stood several feet back from the
street. It was a small, brick structure and very uncomfortable. It is
supposed to have been the second courthouse built for the town, the first
having been built soon after the town was laid out. As early as 1820 the
courts complained of the building they had to occupy and declared that it
was unsuitable for court purposes. Various requests and complaints were
made and orders issued to the Common Council by the court, looking to the
erection of a new and commodious building, but the Council appeared to
take no action in the matter, except to lay on the table all
communications from the court on the subject.
It appears that the town and county were joint owners in the jail and
courthouse, they being public property and the town then being a part of
the county, and possibly contributed some way to their erection. This may
account to some extent for the tardiness of the Council in taking action,
but whether it does or not, the court was not satisfied and did not
attempt to conceal its displeasure.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account