Old Courthouse
Historical highway marker WY-10 · Northampton County
Northampton County was one of Virginia's eight original shires formed by 1634. It encompassed the entire peninsula south of Maryland and was known as Accomac until the General Assembly changed its name in 1643. Present-day Accomack County broke off in 1663. Northampton’s court, first held in Town Fields, was moved to present-day Eastville in 1677. The 1731 courthouse, the third built here, was relocated to the north edge of the green to save it from demolition in 1913. From its door the Declaration of Independence was read on 13 Aug. 1776. The two-story Romanesque Revival courthouse was built in 1899.
Department of Historic Resources, 2016