Necessity played a large role in the establishment of Mathews County. Living in a part of Gloucester County on a peninsula extending into the Chesapeake Bay and connected by only a narrow neck of land, residents found themselves isolated and overlooked by local government leaders. After being a part of Gloucester for over a hundred years, citizens petitioned the General Assembly in 1790 to divide Gloucester and create a new county. General Thomas Mathews, who was speaker of the House at the time took a particular interest in this petition and, in gratitude, the county was named for him.

 

In 1792, construction was begun on a courthouse and other necessary buildings on land at the head of Put In Creek, a branch of the East River. The newly constructed Courthouse was the center of life for the county. It became the seat of government but also the county marketplace and the community center.

Listed on the Virginia Landmark Register and the National Register of Historic Places, the Courthouse Square is an area of open space among the historic buildings that government agencies still use. The t-shaped brick courthouse was erected circa 1830 to replace what was probably a frame courthouse. Other historic buildings are the Federal-style debtor’s jail, the 1859 clerk’s office, and a larger jail for criminals built in the mid-19^th century.

Mathews Visitor Center stands at the heart of the three-block area that forms the business center of Main Street, comprised mostly of one and two-story brick buildings constructed during the early years of the twentieth century. One exception, the three-story Halcyon Building at the corner of Main and Church Streets once housed Foster’s Department Store, which had a roller skating rink on the second floor.

Mathews residents, whether lifetime or recent, have a strong sense of place. Such a sense is buoyed by the presence of a vital center. Downtown Mathews, sometimes referred to as the Village but more often called the Court House, is that center. It is the place where people, businesses, and events come together to create economic energy and meet social needs. It is a place where there are no strangers – only friends waiting to meet!