Attractions

Callands Clerk's Office, Courthouse and "Gaol" (Jail)

The clerk's office was built around 1770 (finished about 1771) as Callands served as Pittsylvania County's first county seat from 1767-1777. It has been restored and is available for tours with sufficient advance notice. Precious American Revolutionary history revolved around here, some 11 miles west of Chatham. A dispatch of 1775 describes a meeting in the Callands courthouse where they elected a Committee of Safety to line up against King George III. The annual Callands Festival (Also called the Autumn Potpourri festival) is held here every year the first weekend of October sponsored by the Callands Volunteer Fire Department and the Pittsylvania Historical Society. Learn More.