Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Botetourt County (Va.) Organization Records, circa 1824-1930, undated [series or volume title]. Local government records collection, Botetourt County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers under an undated accession.

Processing Information

Prior to 2025, the various organization records in this collection were originally described as individual records, but they have been consolidated into one large organization record for the locality. Since 2025, these records additionally include identified but not processed records.

Encoded by E. Woodward: 2020; Updated by J. Taylor: July 2025.

Historical Information

Context for Record Type: Organization Records, both volumes and loose records, are in some cases transferred to the Library of Virginia as components of court record transfers. These organization records in some cases were simply stored in the local court building for safe keeping by business owners. In other cases, organization records (particularly ledgers, account books, etc.) may have been filed in a court case as an exhibit. These organization record exhibits appeared both in chancery causes and in judgments, these records serving as exhibits for business dissolution cases, debt suits, and contract disputes.

Locality History: Botetourt County was named for Norborne Berkeley, baron de Botetourt, the royal governor of Virginia from 1768 to 1770. The county was formed from Augusta County in 1769 and part of Rockbridge County was added in 1785.

Lost Locality Notes: Created by an act of 1769 to take effect on 13 February 1770. Many of the loose records including pre-1830 chancery and pre-1854 judgments suffered tremendous water damage as a result of a courthouse fire on 15 December 1970. Because of the near loss of records, the General Assembly passed the Virginia Public Records Act in 1975 for the purpose of preserving local records. Volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist.

Scope and Content

Botetourt County (Va.) Organization Records, circa 1824-1930, undated, is comprised of various records created by groups in Botetourt County. Represented records largely consist of an account book, and loose records.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into two series:

Related Material

Additional Botetourt County records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm" found on the Library of Virginia's web site.

Botetourt County is one of Virginia's Lost Records Localities. Additional Botetourt County records may be found in the Virginia Lost Records Localities Digital Collection at the Library of Virginia.

Adjunct Descriptive Data