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The Museum Building, which once housed the law office of James Breckenridge and the Western Hotel, was originally set to be moved and preserved. Upon further inspection, though, several experts came to the conclusion that the building wouldn’t survive such a move. It would essentially have been like “moving a sandcastle,� Botetourt County Capital Projects Manager Rich Evans said.

The county government in June in which Paul Whitney with Jamerson-Lewis Construction Inc. detailed the deteriorating condition of the brick used to construct the building in four phases. He cited centuries of moisture infusion as the reason portions of the building were crumbling to the touch.

Meanwhile, work to build the new Botetourt County Circuit Courthouse is underway. The project is expected to be completed in July 2027, Evans said.

Groups of stakeholders met in July and created a list of conceptual agreements regarding the historic law office and hotel to be considered by the county board of supervisors at its meeting July 22. That list of agreements established that two new freestanding buildings would be built on the site where the historic Museum Building was originally intended to be relocated. These buildings will serve as replicas of the Breckenridge law office and the Western Hotel. Items salvaged from the demolition, such as doors, will be used to build the replica law office, along with “modern, historically interpretative materials,� according to county documents.

“Where we were supposed to move that law office and hotel to, we’re going to build a historic replication of those buildings,� Evans said. “Since we couldn’t move it, we are going to build something back.�

During the July 22 meeting, Supervisor Walter Michael questioned if creating two separate freestanding buildings would be “rewriting history� in a way. Board Chair Amy White, with confirmation from representatives of the historical society, said that the law office and hotel were originally built as two separate buildings and were later combined.

Other aspects of the agreement established that the new two-story Western Hotel “representation� will be designed to accommodate potential future commercial uses, and that the design and construction of the new buildings will be managed separately from the circuit courthouse replacement project, with funds available from that project. If the county’s lender approves it, bond proceeds intended for moving and preserving the historic building will go instead toward its demolition and the design and construction of the new buildings, according to county documents.

“I would like to urge the supervisors to honor our history by building quality, historically correct reproductions of these buildings within the monies currently earmarked for restoration of the existing building, in order to honor our past and not to burden the citizens of our county with additional costs,� Ed Holt, president of the Botetourt County Historical Society, said during the public comment period of the July 22 meeting.

The conceptual agreements, approved by the county board of supervisors at that meeting, also state that Botetourt County will contract a historical reconstruction consultant to help with the design process.

The board of supervisors also gave the go-ahead for County Administrator Gary Larrowe to appoint an advisory committee to consult in the design and construction of the new buildings. That committee will consist of two members of the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors, one representative from the Town of Fincastle, two representatives from Botetourt County historical organizations and one general county citizen with no affiliation to stakeholder groups, plus members of county staff.

“I just want to applaud the energy behind this project and the fact that we could pull these people together and reach a consensus,� White said during the July 22 meeting. “It’s a group of people, it’s certainly not everyone, but that’s how decisions are made.�

Within days of the board of supervisors’ decision, the Â鶹´«Ã½¹ÙÍø Valley Preservation Foundation declared the Breckinridge law office “eminently endangeredâ€� in connection with its . The building had previously been on the foundation’s endangered list in 2021.

Demolition “will result in the loss of one of the most historic and significant buildings that survives as testimony to the important role Botetourt County and the courthouse played in the settlement of the western region of Virginia and beyond,� the preservation foundation said.

Construction on the replicas will not begin until after the courthouse project is completed, Evans said. The new courthouse will be almost the exact size as the previous one, but will be Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant and will have a number of other upgrades.

“The HVAC systems were totally garbage in here,� Evans said of the previous courthouse building. “The elevator had pretty much been condemned as well. It had taken on water multiple times throughout its life — it had its problems.�

The courthouse was built in 1848 and was rebuilt in 1975 after it was destroyed by a fire. Staff moved out of the building in June 2023, ahead of its demolition.

All of the historical files from the original courthouse, some of which date back to the 1700s, were taken out before it was demolished. Those files are in storage now and will all be put back once the new courthouse is completed, he said.

Additionally, the several monuments around the courthouse, including the Confederate war memorial pillar and a large rock bearing a World War II memorial plaque, will be placed in a “monument park� on site. The monuments that were located at the law office and hotel are currently in storage, but will be placed in the park as well.