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Martinsville Historic District
Photo courtesy of Virginia
Main Street Program |
Martinsville, located in the southern Virginia Piedmont, was established
in 1791 as the county seat of Henry County. The economy of the late 18th
and early 19th century was based almost exclusively on tobacco as the main
cash crop. With the arrival of the Danville and New River Railroad (later
the Danville & Western) to Martinsville in 1883 and the Roanoke and Southern
Railway (later the Norfolk & Western) in 1892, many of the tobacco factories
that had operated throughout Henry County moved to Martinsville. Tobacco
farmers no longer had to travel to markets in Danville
and Lynchburg as tobacco could be sold, manufactured
and shipped directly from Martinsville. The boom of the tobacco industry
in Martinsville ended around 1905 when the "Tobacco Trust" of larger companies
such as R.J. Reynolds began buying and consolidating the smaller, independent
factories. Although tobacco continued to be the primary crop of Henry County,
it was no longer processed in the county by the early 20th century.
Revitalization
in the Martinsville Historic District
Photo courtesy of Virginia
Main Street Program
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Tobacco was replaced at the turn of the 20th century by the furniture industry.
J.D. Bassett, Sr. established the Bassett Furniture Company in nearby Bassett.
Ancil D. Witten, formerly of the Rucker-Witten Tobacco Company, and Charles
B. Keesee, established the American Furniture Company in Martinsville in
1906. Other factories soon followed such as the Virginia Mirror Company.
With the birth of the furniture industry in Martinsville, came a building
campaign in downtown. A new post office was constructed in 1904, and by
1906, the town owned and operated its own water and electrical systems.
The Sullivan Block along Franklin Street, which included Globman's Department
Store, and the first block of East Main Street were constructed in the 1910s.
Following World War I, the textile industry began to expand in Martinsville.
The Pannill Knitting Company was founded in 1925 with local capital and
expanded to include the Sale Knitting Plant (9 Moss Street) in 1937 to
manufacture shirts. The Jobbers Pants Company was founded in 1933 and
occupied previous tobacco factory buildings on Fayette and Adele streets.
In 1941, a Dupont nylon plant was established just outside of the city.
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The Martinsville Historic
District became a designated Virginia Main Street community in 1995
Photo courtesy of Virginia
Main Street Program |
During the 1970s and 1980s, many of the local industries began to be taken
over by outside interests. The influential and close-knit local power base
that had fostered the commercial development and protected the economic
viability of Martinsville through most of the 20th century shifted. Martinsville
had successfully repositioned its economy at the beginning of the 20th century
and is repositioning it again in the 21st century. In
1995, Martinsville became a designated Virginia Main Street community. The
Martinsville
Uptown Revitalization Association spearheads revitalization efforts
in the community.
A number of buildings have been rehabilitated.
Martinsville Historic District is bounded by VA 457, Danville RR
tracks, Clay and Market sts. The
Martinsville Uptown Revitalization Association (MURA) is located at
58 W. Church St. For more information about shopping, dining and events
in Martinsville call MURA at 276-632-5688.
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