Historical Society takes fall tour

Published 10:24 am Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Members and friends of the Lunenburg County Historical Society spent a recent afternoon in historic Hanover County where they learned details of the life and times of Patrick Henry, the “Voice of the American Revolution.” The morning was spent at “Scotchtown,” where Patrick Henry lived from 1771-1778. It was at Scotchtown where Henry formulated the ideas of his famous “Liberty or Death” speech, and it was from this house he rode to St. John’s Church in Richmond on March 23, 1775, to deliver it.

In the afternoon, the group visited the Hanover County Courthouse Historic District, which includes Hanover Tavern and the Hanover County Courthouse (ca. 1740), the third oldest continuous-use courthouse in the nation. Patrick Henry practiced law there and argued for colonial rights in the Parsons’ Cause, a case that sparked controversy leading up to the American Revolution.