"On motion, said contract was then approved and confirmed by the following vote to-wit: Ayes: F. Slaughter, Joseph Sanford, J. Minor, D. H. Gordon, J. Pritchard, L. J. Huffman, B. S. Herndon, Thomas F. Knox, Charles C. Wellford and John J. Berrey, 10. Nays: Hugh Scott and Wm. Allen, 2. And it was ordered that the Mayor, as evidence of said approval and confirmation, do sign an endorsement to that effect on said contract, and cause the corporation seal to be affixed thereto, and that said contract together with the drawings and specifications, be then delivered to the clerk of the hustings court for safe keeping," &c. After this action was completed the Council appointed Messrs. Thomas B. Barton, John James Chew, J. Minor, Wm. Allen and Beverly R. Wellford a committee to superintend the entire work and see that it was done according to the plans and specifications. And so a question that had vexed the people of the town for more than thirty years, and had caused considerable friction between the hustings court and the Common Council, was settled and the town was to have a new courthouse. The building was completed in 1852, when the courts and clerks were removed to spacious and comfortable quarters, and have remained there to the present day. The south wing on the lower floor has been used for fire engines until the companies were disbanded prior to the war; but, for several years in the past, they have been used for the public schools of the city, while the large room on the second floor is used for an armory. The vault, for the records and papers of all the courts of the past and present, as well as of those of the Common Council, is ample for the purpose and absolutely fire-proof. The building is one of the handsomest in the State and always attracts the attention of strangers. [Illustration: "The Lodge" at Mary Washington Monument. Constructed of Virginia Granite for Superintendent of Monument and Grounds. (See page 160)] [Illustration: The "Wallace Library," now near its completion. The building and library a donation by the late Capt. C. Wistar Wallace. (See page 145)] The old courthouse, that was torn down to make room for the new one, was provided with a bell for calling the people together. It was used to call public meetings, to notify the people of the assembling of the courts, and, until another bell was provided for the purpose, to sound the alarms for fires. This bell now hangs in the belfry of the present courthouse. It was presented to the town by Silas Wood in 1828 and has been on duty more than three-quarters of a century. Mr. Wood married a Fredericksburg lady, and it is reported that he was a believer in the adage that a fair exchange (rather an exchange for the fair) was not robbery; therefore, as he had taken one bell (belle) from Fredericksburg he ought to give it another in exchange. The bell has this inscription on it: "Revere, Boston. Presented to the Corporation of Fredericksburg by Silas Wood, A. D. 1828."