The large stained-glass window in the Washington County Courthouse in Abingdon, Virginia. (David Crigger/BHC)

100-year-old stained-glass window honors local WWI soldiers 

By Robert Sorrell and Dalena Mathews
via the Bristol Herald Courier newspaper (VA) web site

An antique window that can only truly be appreciated from inside the Washington County Courthouse was installed a century ago in honor of local soldiers who fought in World War I.

The courthouse is 150 years old and has been through several transitional periods that have an important place in the county’s history. The original courthouse burned during the Civil War and was later rebuilt at the same location, and a Confederate statue, installed in 1907, stands in front of the building’s front entrance. After World War I ended, the county decided to add it as a unique tribute to recently returned soldiers.

In March 1919, the Washington County Board of Supervisors approved the manufacture and installation of a one-of-a-kind window to honor the service of local soldiers and their role in World War I. The window replaced a second-floor door, according to documents provided by the Washington County Historical Society.

A newspaper article said the board’s reasoning for the project as “a tribute to our boys who left the country for the recent war and to the ladies who did their bit to make the world safe for democracy.”

The window — made of Tiffany-stained glass — was installed on July 4, 1919, as part of the town’s Independence Day celebration.

Read the entire article on the Bristol Herald Courier web site.

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