BY STEFANIE BOWMANN, Eastern Shore Post —
One member of Ye Accawmacke Garden Club has made it her mission to restore Accomack County’s historic courthouse green to its former glory, transforming it into a welcoming and educational place for the public to enjoy for generations to come.
The project is about “preserving the history and moving forward into the future,” said Hope Saecker, a retired Broadwater Academy first grade teacher.
She lives in the town of Accomac, right around the corner from the “court green,” as local historian Floyd Nock dubbed it in 1976.
Originally named Drummondtown, the town has served as Accomack’s county seat since 1690. The clerk’s office, built in 1794, is home to the second-oldest court records in the United States.
The original courthouse was built in 1756. It replaced with the current structure in 1899.
The Accomac court green, which features a Revolutionary War-era cannon, adjoins both the courthouse and clerk’s office.
Saecker started her project after observing that trees on the court green, ravaged by disease and the effects of climate change, had died.
She began by asking the mayor if new trees could be planted. But since Accomack County owns the court green, Saecker had to work with both town and county officials to move her project forward.
She also needed funding. Ye Accawmacke Garden Club gave $1,500, a donation that was matched by the Accomac Town Council. The Accomack County Board of Supervisors gave $5,000.
With $8,000 in funding, Saecker was ready to buy some trees, but there was a problem. The court green project also needed the approval of Accomack’s judges, one of whom required Saecker to hire a professional landscaper.
Saecker was disheartened when she realized that the cost of a landscaper alone would consume all of her funding.
But the initiative was saved when Cape Charles landscaper Kim Allen volunteered to design the project for free.
Saecker is also grateful to Ed Tankard, of Eastville, president of Tankard Nurseries, who helped Saecker choose disease-resistant trees for the court green.
The newly planted trees on the court green include willow oak, fringe tree — which blooms with fragrant white flowers in the spring, deciduous magnolia, and Saecker’s favorite addition, a Jefferson elm.
What could be a more fitting choice for a historic court green than a Jefferson elm? she asked, rhetorically.
The Jefferson elm originated from an American elm that was planted on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the 1930s and was cloned in the 1990s, after it was discovered that the tree possessed an unusually high tolerance to Dutch elm disease.
Andy Nunnally, of Accomack County Department of Public Works, drove to North Carolina to acquire the Jefferson elm that now stands in front of the courthouse. He is providing ongoing assistance with the project, Saecker said.
Phase I of the court green project was completed in November 2024 and included the landscape design, tree plantings, mulch donated by the Fairdale Farm Tractor and Equipment Company, of Accomac, and tree identification markers donated by Ye Accawmacke Garden Club.
Phase II will be completed this spring, including the permanent installation of Victorian-style park benches and possibly memorial plaques. The benches were purchased through a $5,000 donation from the Accomac Town Council.
Phase III will be completed later this year and will involve the Accomack County Department of Public Works installing three new flag poles, from which will fly the U.S. flag, the Virginia state flag, and the Accomack County flag. A historical marker will be located in the flag-pole area.
Phase IV is expected to include additional landscaping, a pollinator garden, and a virtual tour of the court green. The entire project is set to be completed in time for the 250th anniversary of American Independence on July 4, 2026.
Saecker also hopes to convince fellow educator Dennis Custis, who was a principal of Onancock High School and later Nandua High School, to return to Accomac next spring to conduct a one-time revival of the historical tour he used to give senior class students every year.
Saecker is intent on “the future of this town” and envisions Accomac’s court green as an outdoor classroom.
She is excited to one day lead a history tour on the green and tell children the town’s story.
Through its enhancement, the historic court green will regain the respect that it deserves, Saecker said.
It has been an “honor” to work on the Accomac court green project, she said. “It’s become my passion.”
