AUGUSTA COUNTY COURTHOUSE
Northeast corner of South Augusta and East Johnson streets, Staunton
Built 1835-36; demolished 1900
Photograph: Virginia Historical Society
This incarnation of the Augusta County Courthouse -- the fourth of five erected on the same site -- was designed and
built by former Jefferson workman Thomas R. Blackburn. The design closely follows Thomas Jefferson's bold use of
classical elements; in fact, of all the courthouses built by former Jefferson workmen, this was perhaps the purest and
most ambitious example of Jeffersonian Classicism. Its architectural merit did not escape notice in the press of the day.
In a footnote added just before publication to his 1836 Gazetteer, Joseph Martin noted, "the court has contracted for
the erection of a new C.H. which will be unquestionably the finest building of the kind in any county in the state." The
1835 courthouse was razed in 1900 to make room for the present courthouse (completed in 1901), designed by T. J.
Collins, a prolific Staunton architect.
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