Old County Seat

Old County Seat is a Virginia historical marker in Grayson County, dedicated 2016.

Grayson County · dedicated 2016 · Rte. 640, at intersection with Route 634

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Grayson County, formed in 1792 from Wythe County, was named for William Grayson, one of Virginia's first two United States senators. Its court initially met at William Bourne’s farm near present-day Fries. Here at Old Town, earlier known as Greenville, the county erected its first courthouse ca. 1794. That log structure was replaced in 1834 with a brick Federal-style courthouse constructed by James Toncray, builder of several other courthouses in Southwest Virginia. The clerk’s office here dates from 1810. After Carroll County split off in 1842, Grayson County shifted its seat westward to present-day Independence, where the court began meeting in 1851.

TodayHistorical map

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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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On the National Register nearby

Grayson County Courthouse and Clerk's Office, Old80 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.