Needham Law School

Cumberland County · dedicated 2000 · Rte. 45, 0.4 miles south of Lakeview Dr./Rochelle Rd. intersection

Just east of here is Needham, location of Virginia's first proprietary law school and home of founder Judge Creed Taylor (1766-1836), politician, jurist, and legal educator. Taylor's law school at Needham, which opened in 1821 and closed by 1840, was Virginia's second law school and among the earliest in the United States. He trained more than 300 men for the law, including President John Tyler, Jr., several congressmen, and other prominent officials. Taylor was one of the first to use the moot court as a primary system of instruction. He is buried south of Needham in an unmarked grave.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

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under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

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