Constructed between 1856 and 1860 using granite quarried in Dinwiddie County, the U.S. Customs House and Post Office was designed by Ammi B. Young, architect of the U.S. Treasury Department building in Washington D.C. The first floor served as the post office and the second floor was used by customs officers.

During the Civil War, the 3rd floor served as headquarters for the Confederate military department of Southern Virginia and North Carolina. During the 9-month siege of Petersburg, Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and P. G. T. Beauregard met here. An army signal station was also located on the roof. 

The building was extended using the same Dinwiddie granite between 1908 and 1910. (The original building can be seen in the postcard below.) In 1938, the building was renovated and in 1941 the city purchased it from the federal government to become Petersburg’s City Hall.