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Four
historically significant
buildings await visitors to the
Chesterfield Courthouse complex:
a county museum, the 1892 jail,
a 1917 Colonial Revival
Courthouse and a Federal-period
plantation house called Magnolia
Grange. They are all operated
by the Chesterfield Historical
Society.
The
Chesterfield County Museum
is housed inside a replica of
the county's 1750 courthouse.
This modest museum may have
greater appeal for county
residents than casual visitors,
but it does encompass an
important bit of Virginia
history. The state's earliest
inhabitants, Appomattox and
Monocan Indians, are represented
by a collection of stone
implements and a 17th-century
dugout canoe.
An historic
document from 1749 has a
fascinating past. Called the
Commission of Peace, it had
established the county of
Chesterfield. In 1865 Edward
Jeffries of the New York
Infantry stole it. Then, 90
years later on April 6, 1955, a
county resident saw an
advertisement for the document's
sale. He purchased it and had
it returned to its rightful
place in Chesterfield.
Three county
firsts are commemorated. It was
in Chesterfield in 1700 that the
French Huguenots established the
first commerical coal mines in
America. This was also the
location of the first iron
mines, established in 1619 and
eliminated along with the
Henricus settlement (see
selection) in the 1622
massacre. The first railroad in
Virginia was also in this
county.
Visitors to
the Chesterfield County Museum
can see a well-stocked country
store, reflecting the years from
1900 to 1940. Old medicine jars
hold long forgotten nostrums.
There are such arcane items as a
hog scraper, shotgun shell
crimper, Cresoline lamps (the
forerunners of vaporizers),
cherry seeders and a device for
watering baby chicks. On the
counter there is a 1922 account
book from the general
merchandise store; some
youngsters are amazed to learn
that a store would "carry" a
customer.
Downstairs at the jail, visitors
can see police and fire
department artifacts. The old
cells upstairs are definitely a
crime deterrent---small, dark,
cold and totally inhospitable.
One prisoner who was determined
to escape jumped the jailer.
The jailer, who was getting on
in years, fortunately had been
forewarned by a prison trustee.
He pulled his revolver and shot
the prisoner dead. He was
buried on the sheriff's farm
until relatives could claim the
body.
The 1917
Colonial Revival Courthouse is
open for tours. It houses
changing exhibits, a gift shop
and a local history/genealogy
library that is open daily for
researchers. Museum offices are
also located in the courthouse.
The last
part of the complex, Magnolia
Grange, is across Route 10 from
the Court Green. Built in 1822,
it is one of the finest Federal
period houses in Virginia. The
building has been restored to
represent the early 19th-century
life-style of an affluent
Virginia planter. The
architecture and furnishings
reflect the Greek Revival
influence, except for an
upstairs bedroom that is
decorated in the Victorian
style, popular in the 1890s.
The
Chesterfield County Museum
Complex is open Monday through
Friday from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00
P.M. and on Sunday 1:00 to 4:00
P.M. Admission is charged to
tour Magnolia Grange and the
museum. Call the Chesterfield
Historical Society at (804)
748-1026 for further
information.
Directions: From Richmond
take I-95 south to Route 288,
Exit 62. Take Route 10 west to
the Chesterfield Courthouse.
The museum is on the right.
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