Grayson County Courthouse
P. O. Box 130
129 Davis Street
Independence, VA 24348-0130
Phone: (276) 773-2231
Fax: (276) 773-3338
The Historic 1908 Courthouse
Source: The Historic 1908 Courthouse Foundation
The Historic 1908 Courthouse serves as the Art & Cultural Center
of Grayson County, Virginia. The building served as the county
courthouse for Grayson County from 1908 when it was built until
1979 when the county government moved into the new courthouse.
Located at the junction of highways US21 and US58 in far southwest
Virginia, the 1908 Courthouse is in the center of Independence, the
county seat. It is the second courthouse to be built on this spot and
the third courthouse overall in the history of the county.
Since the Grayson County government moved into their new quarters
in the late 1970's the 1908 Courthouse has been restored and now
houses the Crossroads Museum, the Baldwin Auditorium, and the
Treasury Gift Shop, as well as offices housing businesses and other
non-profit organizations.
Hours:
The building is generally open:
Monday, Wednesday and Friday 9:00 am - 2:00 pm
Tuesday & Thursday 10:00 am - 4:00pm
Occasionally the building may close due to weather or other factors.
Foundation Office Hours:
10:00 am - 4:00 pm Tuesday and Thursday
The Historic 1908 Courthouse Foundation
PO Box 336
Independence, VA 24348
Email: president@historic1908courthouse.org
Phone: 276-773-3711
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The Grayson Crossroads Museum
Grayson County has long been a crossroads in the region.
The first settlers in the area came down the Great Wagon Road
and some stopped here on their way west. Some moved on but
some stayed to farm the land. It was not an easy existence and
the area remained isolated for generations.
The Grayson Crossroads Museum display artifacts spanning the
history of the regoins and specifically Grayson County.
The Vault (a portion of our museum that was literally the vital records
vault) shows many of the household items you would have found in a
homestead in the region. The settlers were very self-sufficient - they
had to be. Getting to a city was no small trek and the mountains
surrounding them made it diffcult for outsiders to get in.
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The Baldwin Auditorium
What used to be the courtroom is now the Baldwin Auditorium,
named for Dan Baldwin, the man who bought the 1908 Courthouse
to preserve it. It is the scene of many events such as concerts, plays,
meetings, parties, receptions, and civic events.
There is seating for over 200.
Earlier Courthouses
Source: http://www.historic1908courthouse.org/history
The Courthouse at Old Town
The first Grayson County Courthouse was located in Old Town,
east of the present-day county seat of Independence. This was
when Grayson County consisted of present-day Grayson County
and Carroll County to the east. That first brick courthouse is still
standing in Old Town and is a private residence.
In 1850, Grayosn County was split and Carroll County was formed.
A debate arose concerning the location of the county seat. Old Town
is too far east in the county, some argued...the county seat should be
in Elk Creek. Others said it was fine where it was. A third group of
independents favored a more central location. This third group prevailed
and the new town was named Independence for the group that proposed it.
A new courthouse was built in 1863 in the new county seat. It stood until
1906 when, in disrepair, it was torn down to make way for a new courthouse,
started in 1908. A key feature of the new courthouse was the vault.
The state had mandated that all county courthouse have a fire-proof vault for
storing inportant documents such as birth, marriage, property, and death records.
Frank P. Milburn was chosen by the Grayson County Board of Supervisors as
the architect for the new courthouse. Milburn had designed other courthouses
in the region including Wise County, VA and Forsyth County, NC, as well as the
Southern Railway Station in Knoxville, TN
The 1908 Courthouse
The 1863 courthouse was torn down and construction was begun on the
new building (some of the brick from the 1863 courthouse was saved and
used as fill inside the walls of the 1908 courthouse). County records were
stored in the Baptist Church while the building was constructed.
Brick from Maysville, Ky. was shipped by rail to Fries and delivered by
ox drawn wagon to Independence. Office furniture was purchased from
a Richmond company in 1909. Total cost for the building, grading and
terracing, a stone wall, and an iron fence (added sometime later), total
cost is estimated at $30,000.
The 1908 Courthouse is an example of the Richardsonian style of
architecture common to public buildings built between 1865 and 1915.
This building has many of the characteristics of this style: the imposing
size of the structure; the massiveness that stamps it as a government
building; its round Flemish arches repeated with square-sectioned
openings, and its stone and brick construction.
The Confederate Monument, “Parade Rest”, that stands in front of the
courthouse was added later and dedicated in 1911. It is made of carrara
marble from Italy and is resting on granite quarried from just north of
Richmond and is similar to other county monuments throughout the south.
Saving the 1908 Courthouse
Source: http://www.historic1908courthouse.org/saving
After the Grayson County Government moved to the new courthouse in the late
1970's a controversy erupted around what to do with the 1908 Courthouse.
The county could not afford to repair the building which had fallen into disrepair.
The rear porch was in danger of falling down and the roof leaked badly.
Many business people in the Independence thought the building was an eyesore
and should be torn down to make room for more parking in town.
Others thought it would be a travesty to tear it down. They saw it as an asset to the
community and, with some work, could be restored to being a beautiful landmark.
Several organizations including the Grayson County Historical Society and a new
grass-roots group called People and the Courthouse (PATCH) conducted fundraising
campaigns to save the building.
In the end, it was due largely to one local businessman, Dan Baldwin, the CEO of
Nautilus Fitness Equipment, that the building was saved. He purchased the building
from the county for around $100,000 and then put another $80,000 of his own money
into restoring the building.
On July 4th, 1986, Dan Baldwin donated the 1908 Courthouse to the people of
Grayson County and formed the Historic 1908 Courthouse Foundation to ensure
that there would be an organization to maintain and preserve the building for future
generations.
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This page last updated August 13, 2017.