The courthouse of Floyd County is located on top of a hill, reflecting the traditional Virginia perspective that government offices should be placed in a position of honor. The exact location was chosen because, at the time the county was created in 1831, two local leaders each wanted the county's administrative center to be located on the side of town where they controlled property. The courthouse would draw business regularly to that location, enhancing the value of the nearby land.
The first court meetings had been held in the home of Daniel Spangler, but Colonel Jacob Helms was the richest man in the county. The solution was, naturally, to place the permanent courthouse halfway between the sites preferred by those two leaders.1