Old Clerk's Office

Old Clerk's Office. .

The law (passed by the General Assembly in 1792) called for the construction of a fireproof clerk's office on the courthouse grounds of every county. It required that each clerk reside within the county or corporation in which he held office and that he should keep his office at the courthouse or another convenient place designated by the court. , , Carl P. Lounsbury, The Courthouses of Early Virginia, 2005

, The Clerk of the Court is one of the most respected and positions in local government, requiring a person who can read, write, and serve as a notary or recorder, as well as maintain court proceedings, deeds, inventories of estates, probated wills, and other documents involved in the death of a property owner. In 1792, the state charged the county clerks of the court to "carefully preserve the declarations, please, evidence and all other papers relating to any cause in court, and they shall be all filed together in the office." Prior to the passage of this law, many clerks maintained records in their home; Goochland's clerk was no exception. William Miller, Goochland's clerk of the court from 1791-1846 was allowed to construct a brick building at his home for convenience. Following his death in 1846, the county erected a clerk's office (known today as the Old Clerk's Office) on the courthouse square. It was the first time they county had an official building constructed for storing the records of the court. William Miller was the first in his family to serve as Clerk of the Court and would be succeeded by a long line of descendants. His son Narcissus is credited with saving Goochland's record books during the Civil War. Grandson William Miller, Jr. served from 1898-1900; his son, Peter Guerrant Miller, from 1912-1942; and his daughter Margaret Kean Miller, from 1942-1955.

The one-story building has Flemish bond brick on the south end facing the highway and common bond on the other walls. Unique to the building is a curved (convex) brick cornice along the front.

[Caption:] , The building has conventional sash windows. By 1915 the door and windows were equipped with iron shutters (now removed) to protect the records stored inside from theft, vandalism and fire.