Rochelle-Prince House

Rochelle-Prince House. Home of County Clerk of Court. , This home is one of Courtland's most significant properties on the National Register of Historic Places. The Rochelle-Prince House, built in 1814, is an excellent example of a Southeastern Virginia residence with Federal influences. The house was enlarged, circa 1827. Miss Lulie Prince donated the home to the Southampton County Historical Society., Jerusalem , Situated on the north bank of the Nottoway River, Jerusalem, renamed Courtland in 1888, was the county seat for Southampton County. In 1831, militiaman Solon Borland wrote North Carolina Governor Montfort Stokes that this hamlet was home to "175 people, with only three stores, one saddler, one carriage maker, two hotels, two attorneys, and two physicians living in the town.", James Rochelle and Family , Across the street, you see the 1834/1926 Southampton County Courthouse, which replaced the court building where Nat Turner was brought for trial on November 1, 1831. As the county clerk, James Rochelle participated in the trial on November 5, which resulted in Turner's conviction and ultimate execution. Rochelle also recorded all the trials and court actions associated with the insurrection., James Rochelle's descendants, Captain James Henry Rochelle and Martha Rochelle Tyler, add much to this residence's importance. Naval Academy graduate James Henry Rochelle had a noteworthy career as an officer during the Mexican and Ameriacn Civil wars. He was also a member of the Peruvian Hydrographic Commission of the Amazon. Rochelle's niece, Martha, was President John Tyler's granddaughter. She served as postmistress of Jerusalem for 14 years.