The 1917 Courthouse stands on the footprint of the first Chesterfield County courthouse, built in 1749 and demolished in 1917 against the will of local citizenry. The fight over its fate became an early preservation case, with concerned citizens seeking to save the historic courthouse by building a new one in Chester, while prominent residents led by county supervisor Walter A. Horner successfully argued to keep the courthouse at its original location. On February 5, 1917, a contract was awarded to Vaughan Construction of Shawsville, VA, for a new brick building measuring 48 by 84 feet. Its cornerstone was laid on October 26, 1917, during the annual county fair, followed by a parade of one hundred drafted men encamped in the courthouse yard. An all-day picnic marked the opening of the new courthouse on May 2, 1918, when all schools were dismissed and pupils were urged to take part in the festive program. The first term of court opened there on May 13, 1918, when Judge Robert G. Southall took the bench. The original Chesterfield County Courthouse had been used from 1749 until 1781, when British troops under Gen. William Phillips burned it; rebuilt by 1783, it remained in use until it was torn down in 1917 to make room for the new courthouse.