1750 Courthouse

IF YOU GO

1750 Isle of Wight Courthouse 130 Main St. Smithfield, VA 23430 757-356-9016 Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, 1-4 p.m. Friday and Sunday Admission: free, but donations accepted

Courthouse stands the test of time

By Stephen Faleski Staff Writer

The circa-1750 courthouse in downtown Smithfield hasn’t been used for judicial purposes since the turn of the 19th century.

But every year — save for 2020 — on the second Saturday in October, visitors can still hear the cries for “order in the court” as denizens of the county, dressed in 18th-century garb, bicker about nonpayment of debts, sick cows and property line disputes.

Since 2010, a semi-independent group within Historic Smithfield Preservation LLC known as the 1750 Courthouse Committee, which is tasked with raising funds for the historic building’s upkeep, has been reenacting trials based on actual court cases that were tried in the building during colonial times. The county’s modern-day courthouse at 17000 Josiah Parker Circle is home to some of the oldest and most complete court records in the state and nation thanks to the efforts of Elizabeth Bennett Young during the Revolutionary War and Randall Booth during the Civil War.

The performances at the 1750 courthouse are free of charge, but donations are accepted. Prior to 2009, the Courthouse Committee would pay professional re-enactors to come to Smithfield and demonstrate court procedures of the colonial era, but for the past several years has recruited unpaid volunteers from within the local community.

The plays themselves are written by local authors Doris Gwaltney and Nicole Ballance. Gwaltney wrote five and Ballance, another three.

“It’s a true gift to the community to be able to involve so many people who are local,” said Courthouse Committee Director Lanny Hinson. “We also drew upon our own membership … many of whom have gone through the expense of having their period clothing made.”

The group typically starts rehearsing after Labor Day to be ready by the second Saturday in October — a date also known as “Souper Saturday,” named for a community soup lunch sponsored by the Isle of Wight Christian Outreach Program as a fundraiser to help those in need of financial assistance with wintertime heating.

In 2019, the group recycled the first of Gwaltney’s original plays, and had planned to recycle another in 2020 before Court Day itself was canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. While Hinson isn’t actively looking for a new playwright, “I certainly wouldn’t mind if somebody stepped up to the plate,” he said.

“What I’m fully expecting,” Hinson said of 2021, “is that we’ll be able to have Court Day by the second Saturday in October, and presumably we will be able to have our antiques show and sale and homes tour in December,” referring to two fundraisers the group holds annually.