The Old Courthouse Civil War Museum - Winchester, VA

The Old Courthouse Civil War Museum - Winchester, VA

The Old Courthouse Civil War Museum in Winchester, VA is a prized building in the center of the downtown walking mall. It stands as a monument to long and varied history of the Winchester-Frederick County, VA area. 

The courthouse was built in 1840, prior to the Civil War. It served Winchester City and the residents of Frederick County, VA. Ironically, it wasn't the first courthouse on that site. The original Winchester-Frederick County, VA courthouse was built in 1741. That courthouse was the first courthouse west of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The building is a beautiful brick Georgian style structure. It still has graffi from both Union and Southern soldiers who were in Winchester during the war. The building was used as a hospital, barracks as well as a prison for both sides. The building was renovated in 2003, and that same year it opened as the Old Courthouse Civil War Museum. 

The museum houses over 3000 artifacts from the period. In that lot of artifacts are diaries of soldiers, both north and south. One of those soldiers was Robert Sherrard Bell, a private in the 1st Rockbridge Artillery. Robert Bell had no idea what was ahead of him when he enlisted in Winchester, VA. Bell met his end shortly after the battle of Gettysburg at Rappahannock Bridge. Knowing his wounds were severe, Bell said, "Bid all my friends farewell and bid them to see me in heaven."

The City of Winchester, VA changed hands 70 times throughout the war. It was possible to go to bed in the south and wake up in the north and vice versa. There was great suffering on all sides throughout, and the museum helps local residents and visitors see the war through those who lived it.  

The Old Courthouse Civil War Museum - Winchester, VA

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