Parishes: Dale, King William (also Cumberland Co. 1749- 1777 & Powhatan Co. 1777- ), Manchester 1772-
Chesterfield, is seat of Chesterfield Co. The British destroyed the first courhouse in 1780-81, but the records date back to 1748.
Circuit Court Clerk's Office Chesterfield County Court House<Picture>
9500 Courthouse Road
Chesterfield, VA 23832
Hours are 9:00 am -5:00 pm, weekdays
This is a new, modern Court House built in 1989. (The old Court House is the home of the Historical Society). All persons entering have to go through a metal detector and belongings through an x-ray machine. In addition to the usual things not allowed to be taken inside (guns, knives), you are not allowed to bring in cameras or tape recorders.
The old deed and will books have been microfilmed, the court orders are on optical discs. They have a number of microfilm viewers and computer terminals available for use to view these old records. Copies are $.50 per page and you make them yourself. You have to buy a vend-a-card for $.50 which can be renewed when the initial amount paid for copies has been used. The indexes to wills and deeds are still available in the original bound volumes.
Chesterfield, An Old Virginia County, by Francis Earle Lutz, states that the county was named for Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield. Manchester was the county seat 1870-1876, and the courthouse at that time is the present [1954] Husting Court Part II, of South Richmond. The county seat, after a spirited election, returned to Chesterfield Courthouse when Manchester became an independent city.
Website: http://www.chesterfieldhistory.com
The Chesterfield Historical Society library is located at Castlewood,
phone number 777-9663.
The hours are generally from 10 until 4 Monday through Friday. We are
staffed by an Administrative Assistant and volunteers.
The Southside Virginian
is a quarterly magazine for the Southside Virginia counties. Their stated list of counties includes Chesterfield Co. Subscriptions are on a calendar year basis at $22.00 ($24.00 after March 1st of each year). Contact:
The Southside Virginian
P.O. Box 3684
Drawer VGS96
Richmond, VA 23235-6784
**A note from the host. Please be advised that I have had individuals contact me regarding the erratic receipt of their subscriptions to this periodical and delays in regard to processing new subscriptions.