The Virginia Beach Courthouse Village and Municipal Center Historic District is an area centered around the historic Princess Anne County Courthouse and the mid-twentieth century Municipal Center for the City of Virginia Beach. Encompassing nearly three hundred years of early state and local history, the district contains sites of historical significance ranging from the early days of the American Republic to the modern era. The district is listed on both the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places.
The Whitehurst Buffington House
The 1822 Courthouse
Kellam House
Virginia Beach City Hall
The Courthouse Village and Municipal Center Historic District’s story essentially begins in and around the courthouse square, where some of the oldest structures of the district can be found. The clear centerpiece is the Courthouse itself, which was built in 1822 to serve as a more centrally located seat of government for the people of Princess Anne County. It was built around an intersection known at the time as the “Crossroads.” Today this is the intersection of Princess Anne Road and North Landing Road. The Courthouse served as the foundation upon which a small town was established: the aptly named Princess Anne Court House.
The Courthouse, however, was not the first structure in the area, as people did live in the area long before it was built. The earliest structure within the district is actually the Whitehurst-Buffington House, built in 1793, which belonged to the Whitehurst family. Originally a simple hall-parlor house comprised of one floor, within a century it was expanded to become the large central-hall residence of two floors it is today. The house is currently being preserved with the goal of serving as an example of life in Virginia in the early United States.
In the years following the construction of the 1822 Courthouse, the town grew and expanded.The construction of a tavern was ordered by the Virginia General Assembly in order to house travelers who embarked on the long journeys necessary to arrive at the new Courthouse, though that tavern later burned to the ground in 1899. By the year 1835, Princess Anne Court House had 17 homes, multiple Methodist churches and elementary schools, and a store. The town also employed numerous carpenters and mechanics. The area experienced a slight decline after the agricultural economy fell apart in 1830 and spent many years in recovery. In 1860, a canal and county bank were opened, and the area began to grow again—until, that is, the Civil War broke out in 1861. Although the area saw no significant skirmishes between the Union and the Confederacy, like much of the South, it fell into decline. It was not until after Reconstruction that the area began to experience substantial growth again.
Notable sites from the post-Reconstruction era include the Kellam House, which stands today as one of the few examples of the antebellum era in the surrounding area. A Clerk’s Office was built in 1896 next to the Courthouse and its accompanying green and nine years later, in 1905, a statue was commissioned to honor the “Princess Anne County Confederate Heroes” on the Courthouse green, although due to controversy over the legacy and motives of the Confederacy the statue is no longer on-site. In the 1920s, the 1822 Courthouse was renovated after nearly a hundred years of use. Other noteworthy sites include an auto repair shop built in 1927, which marked the area’s growth and modernization in the early Modern era, and the Court House Elementary School constructed in 1931, one of the first consolidated public schools in all of P.A. County.
As the area grew and modernized, local government had to grow to keep up. With the dawn of the Modern era, Princess Anne County began to invest in delivering its residents the services a proper modern county should have. In 1954 and 1955, respectively, a police headquarters and a fire station were established. In 1956, a Norfolk architect named Bernard B. Spigel designed a master plan for a new municipal center in the area. Although major parts of his plans were abandoned, including a cultural center, some of the planned buildings were constructed, like a new health department building. The Courthouse and Clerk’s office were both expanded in the early 1960s, and a new county court and probate office and a school administration building were also built.
On Jan. 1, 1963, Princess Anne County merged with Virginia Beach. The municipal center used by the former P.A. County that was built in the preceding decade was quickly adopted by the newly enlarged independent city of Virginia Beach. After just three years, plans were drawn up for more expansions and an even greater municipal center which incorporated some of the older structures into the design. By the end of the 1960s, the Municipal Center had grown to include a primary Administration Building (or City Hall), Municipal Courts, a Circuit Court, a Welfare Building, and even a Heating and Cooling Plant. To properly tie in the older surrounding structures, much of these buildings were built in the Colonial Revival architectural style. After over 15 years of development, the Municipal Center was finally completed. Since then, many of the buildings have continued their original purposes and have continued to be a part of Virginia Beach’s administrative system.
On May 31, 2019, the Municipal Center was the site of a deadly shooting. Thirteen people, including the perpetrator, were killed, and four others were injured. The incident proved to be another instance of the danger of mass shootings in the United States and furthered the debate over the role of guns in Virginia Beach and throughout the country. In the wake of this horrific event, the people of Virginia Beach adopted the “VB Strong” saying in unity and they continue to heal from this tragedy to this very day.
Courthouse Village and Municipal Center Historic District Now on Virginia Landmarks Register, City of Virginia Beach. September 21st 2017. Accessed March 10th 2021. https://www.vbgov.com/news/pages/selected.aspx?release=3460&title=courthouse+village+and+municipal+center+historic+district+now+on+virginia+landmarks+register.
Courthouse Village and Municipal Center Listed on National Register of Historic Places, City of Virginia Beach. June 13th 2018. Accessed March 10th 2021. https://www.vbgov.com/news/pages/selected.aspx?release=3833&title=courthouse+village+and+municipal+center+listed+on+national+register+of+historic+places.
National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Accessed March 10th 2021. https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/134-5299_Virginia_Beach_Courthouse_Village_HD_2017_NRHP_FINAL.pdf.
134-5299 Virginia Beach Courthouse Village and Municipal Center Historic District, Virginia Department of Historic Resources. February 20th 2020. Accessed March 10th 2021. https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/134-5299/.
