Storing vastly important legal documents was a problematic enterprise in the 18th and 19th centuries, as such documents were of necessity made of paper, and buildings tended to catch fire with alarming regularity. Counties all over the United States suffered from the scourge of fire, but the Civil War brought added peril to Virginia and other southern states. The effort to defeat the Confederacy made it necessary to completely screw everything up in those states which had seceded from the Union, and an excellent way to make it difficult for a county to proceed in its everyday activities was to destroy its court records.

Of Virginia's 95 counties, 22 suffered catastrophic loss of court records, and another 22 suffered considerable loss. The following list, which was lifted almost verbatim from the Library of Virginia's Lost Records Localities: Counties and Cities with Missing Records report (click here to directly download that report in a pdf file), details the grisly fate of each.

Accomack: Considerable loss A significant number of loose records from the 1700's suffered extreme water and pest damage. Volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist.

Albermarle: Considerable loss All order books except the first and many loose papers between 1748 and 1781 were destroyed by British General Tarleton's raid on Charlottesville in 1781 during the Revolutionary War.

Appomattox: Catastrophic loss All records except land tax books were destroyed by fire on February 1, 1892.

Bland: Considerable loss Most loose records were destroyed by fire in 1888. All volumes and part of the chancery papers were saved.

Botetourt: Considerable loss 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 December 15, 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.

Brunswick: Considerable loss Most loose records prior to 1781 are missing. Pre-1781 volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist.

Buchanan: Catastrophic loss Records were destroyed in April 1885 by a fire that started at a nearby store. Records created after that date suffered extreme damage in a flood in 1977.

Buckingham: Catastrophic loss Records were destroyed by fire in 1869.

Caroline: Catastrophic loss Most loose records and deed books prior to 1836 and will books prior to 1853 were stolen, mutilated, and/or destroyed by Union troops who ransacked the courthouse in May 1864. A near-complete run of order books exists.

Charles City: Catastrophic loss Records have been destroyed at various times. The most damage occurred during the Civil War when the records were strewn through the woods in a rainstorm. A few pre-Civil War volumes such as deed books, will books, minute books, and order books exist.

Craig: Considerable loss The courthouse was vandalized by Union troops in December 1863 and again in June 1864 during the Civil War. Deed Book A and most of the loose papers were destroyed. Pre-Civil War recorded deeds were rerecorded in Deed Books B and C. Volumes that record court orders and wills exist.

Culpeper: Considerable loss A significant number of loose records are missing for the period prior to 1840. They were stolen, mutilated, and/or destroyed during the Civil War. Culpeper was the site of several military engagements and experienced widespread pillaging by both Union and Confederate troops. The county courthouse was used as a jail for Confederate prisoners by Union forces. Volumes that record deeds and wills from the formation of the county exist. Minute books for the periods 1749-1762, 1765-1797, 1812-1813, and 1817 are missing.

Dinwiddie: Catastrophic loss The bulk of court records prior to 1865 were stolen, mutilated, and/or destroyed by Union troops who ransacked the courthouse during the last months of the Civil War. Post-1830 volumes such as deed books, will books, chancery order books, and marriage registers exist.

Elizabeth City: Catastrophic loss Records were burned and/or destroyed during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Additional records were burned on April 3, 1865, in Richmond, where they had been moved for safekeeping during the Civil War. A few pre-Civil War volumes such as deed books, will books, and order books exist.

Fairfax: Catastrophic loss Original wills and deeds as well as many other loose papers were destroyed during the Civil War. Deed books for 26 of the 56 years between 1763 and 1819 are missing. Numerous pre-Civil War minute books are missing as well.

Gloucester: Catastrophic loss All records were destroyed by an 1820 fire, and most of the records created after 1820 were destroyed by fire on April 3, 1865, in Richmond, where they had been moved for safekeeping during the Civil War.

Greene: Considerable loss Deed Book 1, 1838-1841, was lost during the Civil War when it was removed from the courthouse. Some court records, primarily volumes, suffered water damage as a result of a courthouse fire on October 24, 1979.

Hanover: Catastrophic loss Most county court records, particularly deeds, wills, and marriage records, were destroyed by fire on April 3, 1865, in Richmond, where they had been moved for safekeeping during the Civil War. The circuit court records were not moved to Richmond and were relatively unscathed. Consequently, there is a strong run of common law papers and chancery papers after 1831 that were generated by the circuit superior court of law and chancery and its successor, the circuit court.

Henrico: Considerable loss All county court records prior to 1655 and almost all prior to 1677 are missing. Many records were destroyed by British troops during the Revolutionary War. Post-Revolutionary War county court records exist. Almost all circuit superior court of law and chancery and circuit court records were destroyed by fire during the evacuation of Richmond on April 3, 1865, during the Civil War. The county's circuit court held its sessions at the state courthouse in Richmond.

Isle of Wight: Considerable loss Most pre-Revolutionary War-era loose records are missing. Volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist. During the Civil War, the county clerk had his slave Randall Boothe transport the court records to Greensville and Brunswick counties for safekeeping. After the war ended, Boothe returned the records to Isle of Wight and served as courthouse caretaker.

James City County / Williamsburg: Catastrophic loss Beginning in 1770, the courts of James City County and Williamsburg shared a common courthouse. During the Civil War, the records of both localities were transferred to Richmond for safekeeping, but were destroyed by fire there on April 3, 1865. The records of the superior court of chancery for the Williamsburg district were destroyed by a courthouse fire in April 1911.

King and Queen: Catastrophic loss Records were lost in courthouse fires in 1828 and 1833. Records were again destroyed by a courthouse fire set by Union troops on March 10, 1864 during the Civil War.

King George: Considerable loss Most loose records prior to 1830 are missing. Volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist.

King William: Catastrophic loss Most records were destroyed by a courthouse fire on January 17, 1885. Only a few order books and deed books exist.

Lee: Considerable loss A significant number of loose records prior to 1860 are missing, including chancery and judgments. They were probably destroyed when Union forces burned the courthouse in October 1863 during the Civil War. Most volumes including deed books, will books, and order books exist because a local judge removed them from the courthouse for safekeeping before the fire occurred.

Mathews: Catastrophic loss Most records were burned on April 3, 1865, in Richmond, where they had been moved for safekeeping during the Civil War.

Mecklenburg: Considerable loss Numerous loose records prior to 1783 are missing. Volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist.

Middlesex: Considerable loss Numerous loose records from the nineteenth century are missing, including chancery, judgments, and commonwealth causes. Most volumes (including deed books, will books, and order books) exist because court clerk Philemon T. Woodward removed them from the courthouse for safekeeping during the Civil War.

Nansemond: Catastrophic loss Records were destroyed in three separate fires: the earliest consumed the house of the court clerk in April 1734 (where the records were kept at that time), the second was set by British troops in 1779, and the last occurred on February 7, 1866.

New Kent: Catastrophic loss Records were destroyed when John Posey set fire to the courthouse on July 15, 1787. Many records were lost when the courthouse was partially destroyed by fire during Civil War hostilities in 1862. Additional records were burned on April 3, 1865, in Richmond, where they had been moved for safekeeping during the Civil War.

Northumberland: Considerable loss The county suffered some losses in a fire in the clerk's office on October 25, 1710. Volumes beginning in 1650 that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist.

Nottoway: Catastrophic loss Many records were destroyed or heavily mutilated in 1865 by Union troops during the Civil War. A few volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist.

Prince George: Catastrophic loss Most court records were destroyed in 1782 by British troops during the Revolutionary War and again in 1864 by Union troops during the Civil War. A few volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist.

Prince William: Catastrophic loss Many pre-Civil War records were lost, destroyed, or stolen by Union troops in 1863 during the Civil War. Sixteen deed books and five will books are missing.

Richmond County: Catastrophic loss Some volumes were burned and mutilated through unknown causes. In addition, the will books prior to 1699 were missing as early as 1793, and order books for the period 1794-1816 are also missing. Numerous loose records prior to 1781 are missing as well.

Rockingham: Considerable loss A courthouse fire in 1787 destroyed wills and estate records, primarily. In June 1864 during the Civil War, court records (mostly volumes) were removed from the courthouse and loaded on a wagon to be taken to place of safety on or beyond the Blue Ridge. The wagon was overtaken by Union troops near Port Republic and set on fire, which was put out by local citizens. Many order books, deed books, will books, and fiduciary books, however, were lost or severely damaged by the fire. The loose records that remained at the courthouse were undamaged. Pre-1865 records including deeds and wills were rerecorded following an act of assembly passed in November 1884.

Russell: Considerable loss The first marriage register and most loose papers were lost in a fire in the clerk's office in 1872. Volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills (except Will Book 1) exist.

Spotsylvania: Considerable loss Many loose county court papers prior to 1839, when the courthouse moved from Fredericksburg to Spotsylvania Courthouse, are missing. Volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist. The district court, superior court, and circuit court records of Spotsylvania County from 1813 to 1889 are in Fredericksburg.

Stafford: Catastrophic loss Many pre-Civil War court records were lost to vandalism by Union troops during the Civil War. A few volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist.

Surry: Considerable loss Deed Book 10 (1835-1838) is missing and order books for 1718-1741 and various other early volumes are fragmentary. Most loose records prior to 1806 are missing. Courthouse fires in 1906 and 1922 did not result in loss of records, however, because at that time records were housed in a separate clerk's office.

Warwick: Catastrophic loss County court records were destroyed at several times, with most destruction occurring during the Civil War. The clerk's office was burned on December 15, 1864. County court minute books and loose records from 1787 to 1819 were destroyed by the fire. Additional records were burned on April 3, 1865, in Richmond, where they had been moved for safekeeping during the Civil War.

Washington: Considerable loss Minute books for the periods 1787-1819 and 1821-1837 and many loose papers were lost on December 15, 1864, when the courthouse was burned during Stoneman's Raid. The fire was set by Union captain James B. Wyatt of the 13th Tennessee Cavalry. Wyatt, who was raised in Washington County, sought revenge for what he claimed was a wrong done against him by a county court judge before the war.

Westmoreland: Considerable loss Many loose papers were burned during the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. Volumes that record deeds, court orders (except for an order book for the period 1764-1776), and wills exist.

York: Considerable loss Most pre-Revolutionary War-era loose records are missing. Volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist. During the Revolutionary War and the Civil War, county court clerks removed the volumes from the courthouse for safekeeping.