{"nrhp_refnum":"82004580","name":"Clerk's Office","other_names":["Old Clerk's Office"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chatham","county":"Pittsylvania County","state":"VA","lat":36.82675725300004,"lon":-79.40011767199996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-07-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Law","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story, gable-roof brick county clerk's office on Main Street in Chatham, Pittsylvania County, Virginia, built in 1812 to serve the 1783 courthouse. A two-room addition of 1833 has since been torn down.","why_significant":"As part of a Virginia courthouse complex, it represents an important facet of the state's architectural and legal history. It is the oldest public building in Chatham and housed the county's official records. It was the office of the Tunstall family clerks from 1813 to 1852.","narrative":"Behind the town offices on Main Street in Chatham stands a small brick building that once held Pittsylvania County's records. The county court ordered a new clerk's office in 1812, and it was finished in 1813 to serve the courthouse built in 1783. The one-story, gable-roofed building has a Flemish-bond brick front, American-bond side walls, and a saw-tooth brick cornice on the east and west elevations. A two-room addition of 1833 made the plan L-shaped, but it was torn down after the county sold the property in 1853, when a new courthouse with its own clerk's office was built. Only the foundations remain. The office is the oldest public building in Chatham. From 1813 to 1852 it served William Tunstall, Jr., and his son William H. Tunstall, part of a family that held the clerkship for generations. The town now owns it, and the county historical society hopes to restore it and rebuild the addition.","period_of_significance":"1812","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in excellent condition. Owned by the town and cared for by the county historical society, which hopes to restore it and rebuild the demolished 1833 addition. The interior floor has been removed, leaving only the hearth.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.811348-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/68/6825/41682568/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/82004580.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004580/aaaf41a198-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004580/aaaf41a198-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pittsylvania_County_Clerk%27s_Office.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pittsylvania_County_Clerk%27s_Office.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41682568","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsylvania_County_Clerk%27s_Office","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15210915"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/pittsylvania-county/clerks-office-82004580/"}