WHEREAS, the King William County Courthouse, the oldest courthouse building in continuous use in the United States, has served the local community and the Commonwealth for 300 years; and

WHEREAS, in 1700, residents of King and Queen County between the Mattaponi and Pamunkey Rivers petitioned for a more central location for legal proceedings and public meetings; and

WHEREAS, on April 11, 1702, the General Assembly established King William County from the Pamunkey Neck area; and

WHEREAS, Henry Fox of Huntington Plantation and Richard Littlepage of Cumberland donated a two-acre site, which included a wooden structure that became the courthouse in the center of King William County; and

WHEREAS, the 13 original justices who presided over this court in 1702 were Henry Fox, John Waller, John West, Henry Madison, William Claiborn, Richard Gissedge, Martin Palmer, Daniel Miles, Roger Mallory, Thomas Carr, William Noy, George Dabricè (Dabney), and Thomas Terry; and

WHEREAS, in 1722, the wooden courthouse was deemed irreparable, leading to the construction of a new brick courthouse c. 1725, featuring a T-shaped, hipped roof structure with Flemish bond brickwork; and

WHEREAS, the courthouse has long served as the center of local government, hosting monthly meetings, handling legal matters, and serving as the site for elections to the House of Burgesses and other public elections; and

WHEREAS, during the early stages of the American Revolution, local patriots convened in the courthouse, where Carter Braxton received news of the Battles of Lexington and Concord; and

WHEREAS, the courthouse is the best-preserved Colonial court building in Virginia, having been documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey in the 1930s, and listed in the Virginia Landmarks Register in 1968 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1969; and

WHEREAS, the courthouse was in daily use until 2004, and some hearings are still held in the original building; and

WHEREAS, the King William County Courthouse is commended for its historical and civic significance on the occasion of its 300th anniversary;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Glenn Youngkin, do hereby recognize the 300^th ANNIVERSARY OF THE KING WILLIAM COUNTY COURTHOUSE in the COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of all of our citizens.