orians who note uniqueness in the fact
that Virginia courthouses developed as a complex of related buildings
may see ominous symbolism in the fact that today one of the structures
in the cluster around Fairfax County's courthouse is a modern
fifteen-story county office building. Yet, at the same time this
office building was being planned, workmen were rehabilitating the
original section of the courthouse to represent its presumed
appearance in an earlier time, thus providing a reminder of the
historic role of county government in Virginia.

[Illustration: Five Colonial Justices of the Fairfax County
Court--George Mason.]

[Illustration: Five Colonial Justices of the Fairfax County
Court--George Washington.]

[Illustration: Five Colonial Justices of the Fairfax County
Court--Bryan, later eighth Lord Fairfax.]

[Illustration: Five Colonial Justices of the Fairfax County
Court--Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax.]

[Illustration: Five Colonial Justices of the Fairfax County
Court--George William Fairfax.]

CHAPTER I

FAIRFAX COUNTY'S EARLY COURTHOUSES, 1742-1800

Once the survival of the colony of Jamestown seemed assured, provision
for the efficient and orderly conduct of public affairs received
attention. The Jamestown colonist and his backers in the Virginia
Company of London were familiar with county government structure in
England, and from early colonial times the county was the basic unit
of local government in Virginia.

In the concept of county government, the role of the county court was
central. As early as 1618, Governor Sir George Yeardley established
the prototype of the County Court in his order stating that "A County
Court be held in convenient places, to sit monthly, and to hear civil
and criminal cases."[1] The magistrates or justices who comprised the
court were, as might be expected, the owners of the large plantations
and estates in the vicinity, and all were used to administering the
affairs of the people and lands under their control. Accordingly,
administrative duties as well as judicial duties were given to the
court, and the justices' responsibilities included such matters as the
issuance of marriage licenses, the planning of roads, and assessment
of taxes.[2]

Colonial Virginia statutes specified that each county should "cause to
be built a courthouse of brick, stone or timber; one common gaol,
well-secured with iron bars, bolts and locks, one pillory, whipping
post and stocks."[3