STAUNTON – Augusta County Clerk of Circuit Court R. Steven Landes today announced he was notified this week that his Office received a $51,634 Circuit Court Records Preservation (CCRP) conservation item grant to restore six important historic records. The records include three deed books, one will book, one district court order book, and one superior court of chancery record book. The records range from 1750 to 1873. The Office also received a $434 CCRP essential equipment grant to purchase equipment to monitor the environmental condition of historic records in the Augusta County Circuit Courthouse.

“The Augusta County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office is very happy to receive these significant grants to restore these six important colonial and 19th century historic records, and looks forward to their restoration being completed,” Landes said. “We are also pleased to receive the essential equipment grant, which will allow our Office to monitor the condition of the historic documents under our stewardship.”

The grant funding will be used to restore: Deed Book 3 (1750-1751), Will Book 4 (1767-1772), District and Superior Courts of Chancery Order Book (1805-1807), Superior Court of Chancery, Record of Chancery Suits (1811-1815), Deed Book 64 (1842-1843), and Deed Book 87 (1872-1873). In addition, the essential equipment grant award will be used to purchase a Dehumidifier and Environmental Conditions Monitor. The Circuit Court Records Preservation Grants Review Board approved the requests at their February 13, 2024, meeting.

These documents will soon be sent off for restoration and be returned later this year. The grant, which was approved by the Library of Virginia (LVA) will also allow the Augusta County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office to obtain digital images of these records, ensuring future public access to the documents. The equipment purchased will for the first time allow staff to monitor and control the conditions of the historic records housed in the courthouse. The Clerk’s Office has applied for these grants since 1994, and during Landes’ tenure as Clerk the Office has received a total of $174,604 in grant funding.

The Augusta County Circuit Court Clerk is the steward of historic records dating back to 1745. The 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. Since 1990 over 2,000 CCRP grants have been awarded totaling more than $35 Million. This year the program awarded $3.2 Million to 101 local Clerk’s Offices.