The Virginia 250 Passport || 'Important Things Happened Here': Cumberland County, Virginia
I had to drive my wife to the Cumberland County Courthouse; it wasn’t on my Virginia 250 Passport list, but while I waited for her, I rarely pass up the chance to wander the grounds of a historic courthouse. I like to read the markers, soak in the setting, and get a feel for the local history. Many of Virginia’s oldest courthouses sit quietly in rural counties like this one, often holding stories that are easy to miss if you don’t stop and look around.
That pause turned out to be worthwhile. One historical marker caught my attention, marking a moment that unfolded on April 22, 1776. Standing on the front porch of the Effingham Tavern, Carter Henry Harrison read the Cumberland County Resolution to the citizens gathered there. The resolution boldly called for the colonies to abjure all allegiance to His Majesty.
Harrison was later instructed to carry that message to the Virginia Convention, making this the first known call for independence issued by a governmental body, a remarkable detail to uncover during an unplanned stop.
Today, the marker rests on the courthouse grounds. Just a few hundred feet away, across the street, the post office now stands on the former site of the Effingham Tavern. It’s a quiet corner of town, but knowing what once took place there gives the surroundings a weight that lingers long after you move on.
Now It's Your Turn-
Leave a comment if you have visited each place I visited as I explore the historical sites of Virginia that made America.
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