Chesterfield Courthouse and Jail

When last I posted, you might have been wondering what Patrick Henry had to do with our Baptist History Tour.  In Chesterfield, Virginia we find the Baptist significance of Patrick Henry.  This monument is placed at the site of the Chesterfield Courthouse and Jail.  Here John Weatherford and six other Baptist ministers were imprisoned for preaching the Gospel. The Church of England was not pleased with these ministers and tried to stop them from preaching.  They assumed that throwing them in jail would stop not only their preaching but the Baptist movement from growing.  They assumed wrongly.  John Weatherford continued to preach from his jail cell and people continued to come and hear him.  Despite the attempts to hinder his listeners, like hornet's nests, snakes, drunken men on horseback, and a brick wall built in front of his cell window, Weatherford's church grew.  Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison defended these seven preachers in court and won their freedom.  The original jail and courthouse are no longer there.  Only this monument and the historical marker below remain.  

Riley, Calleigh, Skyeler, Lindsey, Victoria, Elizabeth, and Colin in front of the monument.

The courthouse as it is today.

The jail as it is today, built in 1842.  

 The group listening to Mr. Dan.  

The historical marker placed along the side of the road in front of the courthouse.

Below are the fun pictures we took at the site of the jail.  Some of the kids look a little better in the stocks than others :)

 Calleigh

 Riley

 Tori

 Elizabeth

 Lindsey

 Dan

 Colin

 Skye