Thursday, July 15, 2010

Beautiful Downtown Fairfax Courthouse

Today at Brandy Station: July 15, 1862

No this image wasn't taken on July 15, but I wanted you to have a look at what the Federals might have seen as they came into Fairfax Courthouse in the summer of 1862.

Yes Fairfax. The first town in Culpeper County was originally called this. Many Civil War maps show the name Fairfax Courthouse rather than Culpeper. According to Eugene Scheel's book, Culpeper, A Virginia County's History Through 1920, the Virginia General Assembly established the town of 'Fairfax' rather than the traditionally accepted name of Culpeper Court House on February 22, 1759. However, the name was rarely used except in official documents.

The photo is from 1862, probably early August, by Timothy O'Sullivan. The Courthouse is plainly visible, when it was on the the corner of Davis and Coleman (now Main) Street. In the background is the Baptist Church. The wartime courthouse would be removed and the Courthouse was moved to its current site on Davis and West Street in July 1873.

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