The Lunenburg County Historical Society, in cooperation with the Lunenburg Charity Fund, Inc., is planning a dedication of the restored law offices at the court house as a part of an “Old Lunenburg Courthouse Day” on Monday, May 28, of Memorial Day weekend.Here is an outline of the day’s agenda:
- At 10:00 AM, activities will begin with a remembrance service in the new court room, honoring known service personnel from the county in the nation’s wars. Featured speaker will be the county’s attorney, Mr. Frank Rennie, Esq., Rear Admiral, Retired.
- From 11:00 until 2:00 PM, lunch will be available for purchase on the “publick square,” i.e., the court house grounds. Proceeds will go to the Lunenburg Charity Fund, Inc.
- At 11:15, a mock trial will take place in the historic court room based on the actual case of the last duel fought in Lunenburg County.
- At 1:00 PM, the dedication of the law offices will begin.
The older of the two buildings that dates from 1842 (on the left) will be used as the Lunenburg Visitor Center. The building on the right will be outfitted as a law office museum as described by Landon Bell in his book Southsider. Bell’s father, attorney I. B. Bell, had the building constructed in 1888 for his use during court days. The public is invited to share in these Memorial Day activities.
The newly renovated law offices – located to the right of the county’s historic 1827 court house — enhance the appearance of the “publick square” at Lunenburg’s county seat. Dating from the nineteenth century, these buildings will be dedicated on Memorial Day.
About the Project:
The Allen Firm pledged $10,000 to the project.
The Allen Law Firm, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2010, agreed to give its donation as a means of honoring its founder, George E. Allen, Sr. It was in 1910 at the Lunenburg county seat that the senior George Allen, the firm’s founder and a native of Lunenburg, began his practice of law, before moving his practice to Victoria, and later in the 1930’s to Richmond, where his three sons eventually joined him in the firm.
While living in Victoria, Mr. Allen was elected the town’s youngest ever mayor and went on to represent Lunenburg County in the Virginia General Assembly. In 1973, his family presented the county with a handsome portrait of George Allen that proudly hangs in one of the anterooms on the second floor outside the courtroom.