Amelia Courthouse, Virginia

Amelia Courthouse is an unincorporated community in and the county seat of Amelia County, Virginia, United States.GR|6 Amelia Courthouse is also known as Amelia Court House and Amelia. The Amelia area is known for its supply of minerals, including the nation's best source of Amazonite found at the Morefield mine.

History

Amelia Court House is located on one of the principal Confederate railroads of the 1860s. After Robert E. Lee retreated from Petersburg, in 1865, he spent April 4 and 5 in Amelia Courthouse waiting for supplies from Richmond. Those supplies never came instead a train coming through carried government documents. Lee had been to Amelia prior to the Civil War to stay, with his family, at the spas located in the county. The last major engagement of Lee's army with Union forces occurred April 6, 1865 just on the border of Amelia County in a place called Sayler's Creek. Lee would surrender in Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865.

Amelia's Clerk's Office still contains records prior to the Civil War, unlike other unfortunate courthouses. The Union forces were in such a hurry to catch up to General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia that they did not take the time to ensure that the office would burn. The iron shutters and brick construction meant that torches lit to destroy the building went out without causing damage to the contents within the building.

A countywide festival called Amelia Day is held each May on the Saturday before Mother's Day. This festival started in the 1980s to celebrate Amelia's birthday. Vendors, local clubs and citizens come out to enjoy music, dancing, and socializing. The first Amelia Day was held in the 1980s and residents came out to sign a long roll that, along with other items, was put in a time capsule that has been buried in the courthouse green near the Confederate War Memorial. The Amelia Day festival had to be cancelled in 2003 when the courthouse green was struck by an F1 tornado on Friday May 8, 2003, the day before the festival. This tornado destroyed most of the beautiful courthouse green trees and thus the area which the festival was to be held. Amelia is no stranger to tornadoes a small Virginia tornado alley exists in central Virginia and Amelia County itself has had numerous tornado touchdowns. Tornadoes of note however include the April 30, 1924 tornado that passed east of the courthouse area killing one and injuring 7 others. This tornado went from Jetersville to Chula. A tornado also occurred in Amelia County on October 13, 1983, one of a family of tornadoes that affected much of Central and Northern Virginia. Other stronger tornadoes have affected the county, especially to the east.

References

External links

* [http://www.ameliava.com/ Amelia Virginia Community Website]