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COURTLAND

Courtland’s newly designated historic district, which is now listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register, denotes the Southampton County Courthouse as a “contributing” resource. But this isn’t likely to delay the county’s timeline or restrict its options for renovating the circa-1834 structure, according to state and county officials.

According to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, which manages the VLR, a building that is deemed “contributing” to a historic district is one that the state has recognized as adding to the historic association, architectural qualities or archaeological value of said district. Yet, the “contributing” designation, by itself, does not mandate any restrictions or state oversight on how the building can be altered.

“There would be no required review by our agency if the project is funded with local funds,” said Elizabeth Lipford, an architectural historian with the DHR’s Eastern Regional Preservation Office.

While the DHR does offer voluntary technical assistance to localities needing to make modern upgrades to historic courthouses, Lipford said, her agency’s review of the proposed renovations and their impact on the historic character of the courthouse would only be mandatory if the courthouse was state-owned, or if any component of the project was funded with federal dollars.

Federal funding of any part of a renovation involving a property deemed eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places — which the Southampton County Courthouse now is by virtue of having been listed on the VLR — would trigger Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, according to Reid Nelson, director of the Office of Federal Programs. Section 106 requires federal agencies to take into consideration the effects of their undertakings on historic properties and to provide the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation with a reasonable opportunity to comment, as well as to consult with state-level historic preservation offices like the DHR. While the Section 106 process does not dictate a specific timeline for the review, such reviews can take anywhere from weeks to months or longer if significant adverse effects might occur from the proposed renovation, Nelson said.

Fortunately for Southampton County, which has until late July 2020 to make “meaningful physical renovations” to the courthouse per a letter Judge Carl E. Eason Jr. sent to the county’s Board of Supervisors roughly five months ago, the courthouse and the Southampton County Sheriff’s Office are both located on a single parcel, which is owned by the county — not the state. County Administrator Mike Johnson further confirmed that the county does not anticipate using any federal funding for the courthouse renovation, which means Section 106 requirements likely won’t apply.

Lipford further confirmed that the courthouse’s “contributing” status does not impose any restrictions on how the courthouse may be renovated, meaning the county would not be prohibited from demolishing the 1960s wing, or even altering or demolishing the original 1834 building. However, were the courthouse demolished or altered beyond recognition, this could prompt the DHR to amend its historic district nomination report to reflect the loss of a key building.

“However, it is our hope that community pride and a desire to be a good steward of the historic courthouse would compel the County to require the architects to incorporate it into any new design development,” Lipford said. “The Courtland Historic District was found eligible at the state level for politics and government because of the existence of the historic courthouse.”

The request for proposals the county issued in September for a third architect describes the project as a “renovation and repair,” which indicates a total teardown is unlikely. But as the county has yet to select a finalist from the responding architectural firms, it remains uncertain whether demolishing the 1960s wing is still on the table, or to what extent any new construction will be designed to match the historic look of the 1834 structure.