Although the present building was erected in 1894, the property on which the courthouse stands dates to 1758, when Nicholas Minor set aside two half-acre lots for the county courthouse and jail. The jail was found to be inadequate and poorly built for the county’s needs in 1759, and its use was terminated. A second, larger courthouse was built in 1811, with four large stone pillars. The courthouse barely survived the ravages of the Civil War, including a shootout between Yankee and Confederate soldiers on the front lawn. Builder Joseph Layette Norris was able to save several pieces of the four pillars, the remnants of which are found in the courtyard of the present structure. Notably, Loudoun County Clerk George Fox was able to save all of Loudoun’s records by moving them south to Campbell County near Rustburg.
In the courthouse yard following the Battle of Ball’s Bluff on October 21st, 1861, some 566 Union prisoners taken at Ball’s Bluff were kept inside the iron gates as local citizens lined the iron fences to taunt them. They were moved out about midnight after some five hours of imprisonment, just as a seasonal thunderstorm broke. The courthouse standing today was built in 1894. In front of the courthouse is a bronze statue of a Civil War soldier designed by Richmond sculptor F.S. Sievers. It was unveiled on Confederate Memorial Day in 1908. Loudoun was predominantly pro-Confederate during the war, the statue is a memorial to rebel soldiers who fought in the war.
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See Photos (2)