The Jefferson County Courthouse in Charles Town is the only building in the United States that has hosted two treason trials.

In 1859, abolitionist John Brown led a failed raid on nearby Harpers Ferry, trying to start a rebellion against slavery. He was quickly wounded, captured, and sent to jail in Charles Town, charged with murder, treason against Virginia, and leading an uprising. After a short trial, he was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging on December 2, 1859. Brown used his trial in this courtroom to speak out against slavery, which increased tensions between the North and South before the Civil War.

Bill Blizzard was a union leader charged with treason against West Virginia after the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain in Logan County, when thousands of coal miners marched in an armed labor uprising. The trial was moved to Charles Town because it was impossible to find an unbiased jury in Logan County. Blizzard was tried in 1922 in this Jefferson County courtroom. Prosecutors claimed he had helped lead the march, while his defense argued he did not direct miners. The jury found him not guilty.