Place yourself, in your mind's eye, at this place. You now stand in the historic district of Hanover Courthouse; the county seat of a community whose members, through three centuries, greatly influenced the history of America. To get your bearings, look to the right. There, at the far end of an expansive court green is the old courthouse building, its arcade fronted by five distinctive, arched bays. Nearby stands an accompanying clerk's office. At their left, in stark contrast to their warm terra cotta hue, is a crude, slate-gray jail made of stone. Heavily studded double doors mark the only entrance, the outermost made of thick iron bars.

At the middle of the green is a granite obelisk, nearly as tall as the neighboring old maples, with the inscription: "Hanover - To her Confederate Soldiers and to her noble women who loved them, 1861-65." Listed on the monument's four sides are the names of those Hanoverians who served, were wounded, or martyred to "the cause."

Direct your attention now across the road to your left, past latter day structures and clumps of dogwood and oak. Between a grassy hill and a stand of birch and scrub pines, focus on the glimmer of white that reflects off the wooden siding of old St. Paul's Church. A chance wind may blow the branches to and fro, giving a glimpse of the spire on the steeple and the tops of gravestone markers dotting the cemetery.

Peripherally, you notice to the far left the stately structure of the Hanover Tavern. On this land stood the original tavern, or ordinary. Let your imagination run free, and imagine there groups of people deep in conversation. Look back in time, to October, 1763. Dissatisfaction is running deep in colonial Virginia. A novice lawyer destined to become the county's most famous native son is about to make history, and for anyone in Hanover, the place to be lies here, on a hill just north of the creek named Mechumps. The place to be is Hanover Courthouse.

On this court day, as usual, the two acre courthouse area is bustling with activity, but underneath the veneer of everyday business lies a brooding discontent. The settlers in Virginia, as in other colonies, are chaffing under Britain's rule. In Hanover County, matters are coming to a head, and the people's concerns will soon be given a voice.