Prince Georges County Courthouse Historic District
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Why it's listed
Prince George County's government center sits on both sides of a sharp bend in State Route 106. The district groups eleven contributing buildings, two noncontributing buildings and three memorials. The court buildings stand on the north side of the road, with privately owned buildings to the south, including an 1870s store and a Victorian residence. The brick 1883 courthouse, designed by F.L. Leavenworth, reflects temple-form courthouse design and is considered an early Colonial Revival example. Nearby are the 1900 clerk's office, now a library, a former jail, and a 1935 office building. A 1920s bungalow was later adapted for county offices. Memorials honor those lost in the Civil War, both World Wars, Korea and Vietnam. The district matters because the county lost its earlier courthouse when Union troops burned it in 1864. Court sessions then met in private homes and temporary buildings until a permanent seat was rebuilt, and the complex kept growing through 1952.
Significance in brief: The district is significant under Criterion A in the area of Government/Politics. It documents the rebuilding of county government after the courthouse was burned in 1864 during the siege of Petersburg. The courthouse complex grew in stages from 1870 to 1952, alongside a small private village.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 03000570, listed June 23, 2003. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 6400 Courthouse Rd., Prince George |
|---|---|
| County | Prince George County |
| Listed | June 23, 2003 |
| Reference number | 03000570 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1870-1952 |
| Architect / builder | F.L. Leavenworth, Architect; J. Chappell, Builder |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival, Craftsman/Bungalow, Victorian (Colonial Revival described for the court buildings) |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Politics/Government |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The 1883 courthouse has not been used as a courthouse since 1991 and now houses county administration offices. The former clerk's office is a library, and other buildings serve as county offices. |
| Acreage | 18 |
| Coordinates | 37.22193, -77.28654 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 03000570.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q15268618
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.