Cherrystone Meetinghouse

Cherrystone Meetinghouse. Site of the Second Pittsylvania County Courthouse 1777 - 1782. Beneath this bridge is the upper Cherrystone Spring. At the base of this hill is the lower Cherrystone Spring, the site of the Cherrystone, Meeting House community. In 1777 the new Virginia General Assembly divided Pittsylvania County to form Henry, Patrick, and Franklin Counties. To keep the county seat in the geographic center of the county, they moved the courthouse 9 miles east to Cherrystone Meeting House. The court met in a tavern that had been adapted as temporary headquarters until 1782 when a new courthouse was built at the top of the hill approxmiately at the northwest corner of the current Chatham Baptist Church., (Captions) , The name "Cherrystone" is derived from rock not fruit. A kind of rock prominent in this area contains Mica schists that exhibit small flecks of garnet. These red garnets in the schists are referred to as "Cherrystones"., Pittsylvania prison bounds containing 8 acres land laid off July 1779 Joshua Stone, This crude map is the only record of the community's layout. Note a courthouse, a jail, and a tavern. Evidence of the community still exists., Boundary notes: , The northern boundary was North 64° to East 34 poles or 544 feet in length. , The eastern boundary was South 40° to East 34 poles or 544 feet in length. , The southern boundary was South 82° to West 60 poles or 960 feet in length. , The western boundary was North 24° to East 20 poles or 320 feet in length. , A "pole" equals 16 feet in measurement. , The town spring was located at the South East corner.