COURTLAND
The board of directors of Mahone’s Tavern and Museum Inc. is once again offering a commemorative ornament for sale, which features a historic site in Southampton County.

This year’s ornament is of the historic Southampton County Courthouse.

This is the second ornament in a series. The first, which was issued last year, was of Mahone’s Tavern.

The 1834 Southampton Courthouse was a simple temple-form building, one of only a few in Virginia, built by slave and free black labor. Around 1926, a portico was added to the front of the building, along with a full-height porch, a classical pediment and a band of cornice trim with dentils, giving the courthouse a Greek revival appearance.

Records from the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 are still preserved in the courthouse. In 1831, Nat Turner, the leader of the Southampton Insurrection, was tried in the courthouse for his role in the slave uprising in the county.

The ornaments are available for a $20 tax-deductible donation, and include a gift box and short history of the courthouse, beginning in 1752. Ornaments are available at the following locations:

• Southampton County Courthouse, Clerk of Courts Office
• The Nottoway House, U.S. Route 58, outside of Courtland
• The Peanut Patch, U.S. Route 58, outside of Courtland
• Smith Jewelers, Second Ave., downtown Franklin
• Downtown Franklin Association, Main St., downtown Franklin
• Heritage Day, Saturday, Sept. 9 at the Agriculture and Forestry Museum, Courtland