STAUNTON – Augusta County Clerk of Circuit Court R. Steven Landes announced today that his Office was notified this week that the Office received back eight recently restored historic records. The records were restored due to a $47,687 Circuit Court Records Preservation grant to restore the eight important historic records. The documents include deed books from 1761 to 1878.

     “The Augusta County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office is excited to receive back these eight important Colonial and 19^th Century will book and deed books and we are glad they will now be available for the public to inspect, and to see them online,” Landes said. “These important land records will allow future generations of Augusta County citizens to see these tangible pieces of history.”

     The grant funding was utilized to restore Deed Book 10 (1761-1762), Deed Book 13 (1766-1767), Deed Book 15 (1768-1769), Will Book 1-A D.C. (1778), Deed Book 54 (1832-1833), Deed Book 83 (1866-1868), Deed Book 86 (1870-1872), and Deed Book 92 (1877-1878). The Circuit Court Records Preservation Grants Review Board approved the grant request at their January 6, 2023, meeting.

     These documents were sent off for restoration and recently returned. The grant, which was approved by the Library of Virginia (LVA) also allowed the Augusta County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office to obtain digital images of these records, ensuring future public access to the documents. The online digital images can be found at the online archive portal at https://acch.omeka.net. The Clerk’s Office has applied for these grants since 1994, and during Landes’ tenure as Clerk the Office has received a total of $122,536 in grant funding.

     The Augusta County Circuit Court Clerk is the steward of historic records dating back to 1745. Clerk’s Offices throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia possess a wealth of historic records. These historic records require constant protection and preservation work to ensure these artifacts remain in existence for future generations. The Virginia General Assembly created the special grants preservation program, which is managed by the LVA, and this program allows Clerks to use state grant funding to perform preservation and conservation work to restore and protect Virginia’s valuable history.

     The Augusta County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office is in downtown Staunton at the Augusta County Courthouse. The Clerk serves as the recorder of deeds and probate judge, issues marriage licenses and is the official court administrator for all civil and criminal cases. The Clerk creates and maintains all court files and records, prepares court orders and jury lists, contacts jurors and issues summons and court processes. More information about the services of the Augusta County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office can be found online at https://www.co.augusta.va.us/government/circuit-court-clerk.