County clerk Edward R. Turnbull and lawyer Robert Kirkland supervised the construction of the courthouse. Although in the Greek Revival idiom popular in the mid-nineteenth century, the courthouse's design clearly descends from the Roman temple-form courthouses popularized by Thomas Jefferson. The power and might of county government is embodied in the colossal portico of a massive scale not equaled in any other Virginia courthouse. Originally smooth, its four columns were fluted in a 1977 “restoration.” All of the two-story brick courthouse's original windows are six-over-six sash with simple white marble lintels. A weathervane crowns the courthouse's louvered bell tower. The building is entered through double doors framed by a transom and sidelights with rectilinear tracery. Inside, offices open off a two-story entrance hall. On either side of the hall, straight-run stairs lead to a landing at the entrance to the second-story courtroom.