By Heather Michon
Correspondent
Fluvanna’s Historic Courthouse Restoration Project has received a $785,000 grant from the state’s Department of Historic Resources Virginia 250 Preservation Fund.
Governor Glenn Youngkin announced the grant, one of 35 approved statewide, on Thursday (Jan. 16).
The fund was established last year to flow money to historic preservation projects in anticipation of increased tourism during the Sesquicentennial of the American Revolution beginning in 2026.
“The capital improvements made possible through these grants will enhance the experience of thousands of visitors for whom Virginia will be a priority travel destination during 2026,” said DHR Director Julie Langan. “The enduring nature of this investment, in a geographically and historically diverse range of landmarks, will benefit Virginia for many years to come,”
Fluvanna’s application was one of 217 submitted across the state.
Designed by General John Hartwell Cocke of Bremo Plantation and constructed by enslaved workers in 1830-31, the historic dourthouse is prized by architectural historians as an early and unique example of the Classical Revival in Virginia. It served as the centerpiece of Fluvanna’s legal and civic life for 170 years.
As it approaches its 200th anniversary, the dourthouse is showing the ravages of time. A 2022 structural survey by John Milner Associates found significant issues from the roof down to the foundations. Virtually every interior and exterior surface of the building needed some sort of restoration.
The report estimated the total costs of repairs to be around $1.5 million over five years.
County officials and the Fluvanna County Historical Society has been working on raising those funds for the past several years.
In September 2023, a state budget amendment provided $310,000 towards the restoration, and the Board of Supervisors appropriated $452,700 in the FY2024 budget. The DHR’s grant will bring the total appropriations to $1.54 million.