Repairs to courthouse completed

Published 8:30 am Friday, February 16, 2024

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

A long-awaited repair project to the historic courthouse has been completed. According to a report from the Commonwealth Regional Council (CRC), contractors have finished the plaster repairs work within the building. 

Work on the building was needed due to damage sustained during Hurricane Michael in 2018.

In 2022, the Virginia Department of Historical Resources (DHR) awarded the project $100,000 to address moisture issues for the Charlotte Courthouse Complex, which was flooded and damaged due to Hurricane Michael and other buildings in the complex.

According to the CRC, grant funds were used to replace the current failing gutters and downspouts at the courthouse, landscaping, and excavating to move the water away from five of the flooded courthouse complex buildings. 

The grant funds will further support installing two HVAC systems to increase the airflow and control humidity as a protective measure.

According to Executive Director Melody Foster with the CRC, the buildings included that are in need of repairs are the Historic Charlotte County Courthouse, the Charlotte County Jail (currently the Museum of Charlotte County), the Old Brick Tavern (now the Circuit Court Clerk’s office), the Commonwealth Attorney’s office and the Old Registrar’s/ Old Clerk’s office.

“Damages included water damage, drainage issues, and erosion,” Foster said.

The National Park Service (NPS) awarded the DHR $4.7 million in funding to provide recovery assistance to historic resources damaged by hurricanes Florence and/or Michael in September and October 2018 that are listed or are eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

The award from the Emergency Supplemental Historic Preservation Fund (ESHPF) administered by the NPS enables DHR to make sub-awards to historic resources.