Text-Only Version

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Welcome
Introduction
Essay on Virginia Main Street
Essay on Agriculture and Industry
Essay on Commercial Architecture in Virginia
Essay on Transportation
List of Sites
Begin the Tour
Learn More
Credits

Welcome

Dear Visitor,

Welcome to Virginia's historic Main Street communities, where there is no place like downtown. As the birthplace of America's history, Virginia is rich with historical and natural attractions unparalleled in the Nation. Our downtowns boast historical gems dating back to the country's origins, and shops, restaurants, and markets built on old-fashioned hospitality.

The communities in this itinerary have dedicated significant time and energy to revitalize their downtowns and ensure their listing in the National Register. We are proud to partner with the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places program to highlight how successful historic preservation has been to revitalizing communities throughout Virginia. Since 1985, Virginia's designated Main Street communities have generated over $29 million in private investment, and created over 3,400 new businesses and over 9,600 new jobs. More than 4,500 buildings have been restored to their original state, helping to create a charming and sophisticated downtown atmosphere.

I hope this virtual tour of Virginia Main Street communities entices you to visit in person. Virginia features some of the most diverse landscapes you will encounter within one State. The driving tour of Virginia Main Street communities will take you past rivers, mountains, valleys, historic railways, and even the ocean. Upon reaching each destination, you'll experience the best that Virginia's historic downtowns have to offer and see why Virginia has been at the heart of America's history for nearly 400 years.

Sincerely,
Governor Mark Warner

Introduction

The National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places, in partnership with the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development's Virginia Main Street Program, Virginia Department of Historic Resources and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO), proudly invite you to explore Virginia Main Street Communities. Across the State, you'll find 17 unique Main Street communities, recognized for their historic architecture, one-of-a-kind businesses, special events, historic and natural attractions and old-fashioned hospitality. This travel itinerary highlights 50 historic places listed in the National Register of Historic Places that are playing a role in the downtown revitalization of these Virginia Main Street Communities.

Architectural gems can be found in all of these communities, such as those in Danville, Lynchburg, Marion and Martinsville. Many of these communities are rich in Civil War history, especially Warrenton, Winchester, Culpeper and Manassas. All year long Main Street communities host a variety of special events. Fall is a special time of year for the many Main Street communities near the Blue Ridge Mountains and Skyline Drive, particularly for Waynesboro, which is located where the two intersect. Many communities plan special holiday activities in November and December, such as Bedford, Berryville, and Rocky Mount. Virginia's beautiful rivers meander through nine Main Street communities, including Radford and Franklin. Numerous noted individuals can trace their roots to Virginia's Main Streets: President James Madison's home was outside Orange, President Woodrow Wilson was born in Staunton, while both Confederate General Robert E. Lee and Confederate Lieutenant General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson lived in and are now buried in Lexington.

The Virginia Main Street Communities travel itinerary offers several ways to discover the places that reflect the town's history. Each highlighted site features a brief description of the historic place's significance, color photographs and public accessibility information. At the bottom of each page the visitor will find a navigation bar containing links to four essays that explain more about Virginia Main Street, Commercial Architecture in Virginia, Agriculture and Industry and Transportation. These essays provide historic background, or "contexts," for the places included in the itinerary. In the Learn More section, the itinerary links to regional and local web sites that provide visitors with further information regarding cultural events, special activities, and lodging and dining possibilities. The itinerary can be viewed online, or printed out if you plan to visit Virginia Main Street Communities in person. Visitors may be interested in visiting Historic Hotels of America, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, to find member hotels located in communities featured in this itinerary.

Created through a partnership between the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places, Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development's Virginia Main Street Program, Virginia Department of Historic Resources and NCSHPO, Virginia Main Street Communities is the latest example of a new and exciting cooperative program. As part of the Department of the Interior's strategy to promote public awareness of history and encourage tourists to visit historic places throughout the Nation, the National Register of Historic Places is cooperating with communities, regions and Heritage Areas throughout the United States to create online travel itineraries. Using places nominated by State, Federal and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices and listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the itineraries help potential visitors plan their next trip by highlighting the amazing diversity of this country's historic places and supplying accessibility information for each featured site. Virginia Main Street Communities is the 32nd National Register travel itinerary successfully created through such partnerships. Additional itineraries will debut online in the future. The National Register of Historic Places hopes you enjoy this virtual travel itinerary of Virginia Main Street Communities. If you have any comments or questions, please just click on the provided e-mail address, "comments or questions" located at the bottom of each page.

Virginia Main Street

Since 1985, Virginia Main Street, a program of the Department of Housing and Community Development, has been helping localities revitalize the economic vitality of historic downtown commercial districts and the results have been remarkable. Entrepreneurs are opening new businesses, investors are putting their money into once vacant buildings, tourists are visiting new shops and restaurants and residents are enjoying renewed community pride. The program's most recent statistics show that from 1985 to present, designated Main Street communities in the Commonwealth have generated more than $299 million in private investment, completed more than 4,500 rehabilitation projects and created more than 9,600 new jobs and 3,400 new businesses. The Virginia Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program and the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentive Program have proven to be important economic tools for the successful revitalization of these communities.

Virginia Main Street's approach to assisting communities with their revitalization efforts was developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation's National Main Street Center. This national model began as a three-town demonstration project in 1977 at a time when retail sales were shifting from downtown to shopping centers and malls at the outskirts of communities. "Main Street America" was deteriorating and the future of our historic downtowns appeared bleak.

Highly successful, the demonstration projects helped downtown advocates realize several facts: buildings needed to be adapted for new economic uses; merchants needed training and coaching; exciting and new promotional efforts were needed to reposition historic downtowns in consumers' minds; and like malls, "Main Street" needed a market strategy. The strategy, developed by the National Main Street Center and adopted by more than 1,600 communities in 40 States, is known as the Main Street Four Point Approach™.

The guiding principles of the Main Street Four Point Approach™ are Design, Promotion, Economic Restructuring and Organization. Design promotes the enhancement of the physical appearance of historic downtowns through the rehabilitation of historic buildings and the encouragement of new construction that reinforces the character of downtown. Promotion helps create and market a positive image based on the unique attributes of downtown districts. Economic Restructuring strengthens the districts' existing economic base, yet expands to meet new opportunities and challenges from the changing business environment. Organization establishes consensus and cooperation among all downtown stakeholders, whether they are local government officials, banks, merchants, civic organizations, civic-minded individuals or downtown property owners.

In Virginia, there are 20 designated communities that were competitively selected by Virginia Main Street. Designated communities have populations of 75,000 or less and their local Main Street organizations have a variety of budget, population, volunteer and staff sizes. To cite only a couple of success stories out of many across Virginia: since being designated in 1988, Culpeper has had some level of restoration or improvement of nearly all of its downtown businesses; and Warrenton, designated since 1989, today boasts a 100 percent downtown retail occupancy rate.

Virginia Main Street
Cumulative Statistics 1985 - 2004

Source: Virginia Main Street Program monthly reports.
Notes: + Volunteer Investment figures for 1997-2004 only.
* Adjusted for inflation and expressed in current dollars.

For more information about Virginia Main Street or to receive a copy of the 2004 Annual Report with additional Main Street success stories, please contact: Virginia Main Street, Department of Housing and Community Development, 501 N. Second Street, Richmond, VA 23219, 804-371-7030, e-mail: mainstreet@dhcd.virignia.gov or visit the web site at: www.dhcd.virginia.gov/mainstreet.

Agriculture and Industry

Agriculture has played a dominant role in the Commonwealth of Virginia's development since the establishment of the first permanent English settlement at Jamestown in 1607. John Rolfe, a 17th-century colonist and husband of Pocahontas, introduced tobacco to England via the Virginia Colony in 1614. Thereafter, tobacco was king in the Tidewater area colony throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. Colonists only grew corn and wheat for use by their families. Other crops were grown, but mostly for individual consumption. As Virginia's Piedmont became more populated during the 19th century, the area became a major tobacco producer. Both Lynchburg and Danville were major tobacco centers, with Lynchburg being one of the largest in the world in the early 19th century.

The Jamestown colonists introduced both wind-powered gristmills and water-powered gristmills to their settlement in the Virginia colony. These mills were necessary to grind grain into grist or meal. The meal could then be sifted into flour necessary for making bread. The early gristmills in Virginia are documented as having been built on plantations by wealthy colonial officials or by a group of neighboring estate owners. They were of two types: "plantation gristmills" for grinding the grain of the landowner (and mill owner) and that of a few neighbors, and "custom gristmills" which ground the grain for neighboring planters. A third type, "merchant mill," was a commercial mill which bought and ground grain into a grist or meal which was then sifted into flour for export.

It was not until the third quarter of the 18th century that merchant milling blossomed in Virginia as a result of wheat becoming the colony's second largest export crop. Scots-Irish and German settlers were following the Valley Road from Pennsylvania into the fertile Shenandoah Valley and began growing crops such as wheat and corn. In fact, the Shenandoah Valley was often called the "Breadbasket of the Confederacy" during the Civil War, and had strategic importance as a major food supplier for the army. Much as villages and towns sprang up around courthouses, so did they around the larger mill complexes.

Beef, pork, poultry and dairy products became major exports early in Virginia history. Peanuts began to be commercially grown here prior to the American Civil War. Southampton County, in which Franklin is located, leads the State in peanut production today. Rockingham County, of which Harrisonburg is the county seat, has been a national leader in the poultry industry. Currently, Virginia is the sixth largest producer of apples in the United States with 11 varieties grown in the Commonwealth. The development of vineyards and the wine industry in Virginia began as early as 1619 at Jamestown. Today, numerous vineyards are found throughout the Commonwealth. Currently, Orange County produces more wine grapes than any other county in Virginia.

Mining in Virginia has a long history. In 1609, colonial settlers mined bog iron ore near Jamestown. About 66 miles northwest of Jamestown, in 1619, the first ironworks in America were established on the James River. For the most part, Virginia ironworks were small enterprises, which used local sources of iron ore for raw material. During the first quarter of the 18th century, iron ore mining and related smelting operations greatly increased in Central Virginia. Iron and steel production became a significant industry in Radford and Lynchburg. Lead was the only other important metal mined in Virginia during the colonial period and was used mainly for bullets. During the 18th century, the Austinville Lead/Zinc Mine in Wythe County was a significant operation, especially during the American Revolution.

The Town of Saltville, near Marion, was significant for its salt mines. Salt was especially valued for preserving food. A variety of salt byproducts were also made in Saltville, including hydrazine which powered the Saturn rocket in the first manned moon landing in 1969. Niter or saltpeter, (from which is derived potassium nitrate), the main component of black powder, was also mined in Virginia. During the Civil War, Virginia was the leading producer of saltpeter with a total production of approximately 500,000 pounds. The saltpeter deposits were mined on a small scale at more than 100 caves in western Virginia.

During the 20th century, other materials mined included the only arsenic deposit east of the Mississippi River. The Brinton Mine extracted arsenic during its operation from 1912 to 1917. Barite production in Fauquier County continued from 1845 to the mid-1950s. Titanium ore was mined and processed from the 1940s to the early 1970s. Beginning in the late 19th century, the mining of materials used in construction including clay, dimension stone, gneiss, granite, gravel, gypsum, limestone, sand, sandstone (including Aquia sandstone from Government Island in Stafford County which was used in the construction of the Capital, the White House and other governmental buildings in Washington, D.C.), shale and others began in Virginia and continues into the 21st century. More than 50 minerals have been mined in Virginia, which has contributed vastly to the Commonwealth's economy.

During the 20th century, textiles and furniture manufacturing became major industries in the Virginia Piedmont as the tobacco industry waned. Both Danville and Martinsville experienced a shift in their economies from tobacco manufacturing to furniture and textiles.

Commercial Architecture in Virginia

Most Virginia Main Street communities trace their beginnings to the mid-18th to early 19th centuries, when the line between commercial and domestic architecture was often blurred. This was especially true for taverns or ordinaries, which frequently occupied former residences. In fact, many tavern keepers simply rented houses in order to conduct their business. These ordinaries were some of the first businesses in many of the Main Street communities, especially those that served as county seats, river ports or ferry crossings.

Many of the original commercial buildings were constructed of frame, as this was the quickest and least expensive construction method. A number of early Virginia towns gave deadlines by which structures had to be built on newly laid-off lots, thus leading to dense development of highly flammable buildings. Ordinances then had to be passed regulating the style of chimneys, and the composition of roofing material (slate, for example, was generally more fire resistant than wood shingles). Not surprisingly, fire was of great concern in early Virginia towns, and it did occasionally take its toll on the picturesque 18th-century frame buildings that remained in some towns, including Lexington's wildly destructive fire in the late 1790s. Buildings that developed during this time (1780s to 1820s) are generally referred to as being of the Federal, or Adamesque style, and display well proportioned, restrained, symmetrical facades and double-hung windows containing combinations of six-pane and nine-pane sashes. The relatively spartan exterior of these buildings was contrasted by the lively paint and wallpaper schemes used in the interior. Interior and exterior woodwork generally used Roman forms, as opposed to those that used Greek styles in the next major architectural period in the Commonwealth.

As the Virginia Main Street communities developed, there was a movement to begin building out of brick. Masonry structures were obviously more fire-resistant, and they also conveyed the impression of permanence and success. The core commercial district of a town quickly became the place to showcase new architecture, and the Greek Revival style of the 1820s to 1850s, which is often considered to be the first truly American style, can be seen in stores, warehouses, mills, offices, courthouses and churches throughout the Main Street communities. A Greek Revival building can often be identified by its heavy stone lintels over windows and doors and porticos with pediments supported by various orders of columns. Most of these buildings used double-hung (or sometimes triple) windows, usually with six panes of glass, or lights, per sash.

After the Civil War, the Italianate style began to take prominence in Virginia towns and influenced commercial architecture through the turn of the century. Commercial buildings in this style often carry much more subtle details than their residential counterparts. Early Italianate buildings featured widely overhanging eaves, bracketed cornices and sometimes towers or cupolas. An excellent example of this is the Orange County Courthouse, located in the town of Orange. Later in the 19th century, this style evolved into a form common in dense commercial business districts, and shapes the overall look and feel of what today's travelers see when they visit Virginia's 17 designated Main Street Communities. These buildings, which often connect to one another, feature double-hung windows with two panes per sash, a storefront with display windows and an entry door (often in one unit) on the first floor and sets of three windows (or bays) on each upper floor. The cornice is generally constructed of wood and exhibits ornate brackets. Another common cornice detail consists of corbelled bricks, which are sometimes formed into triangular patterns.

Later additions to Virginia's commercial architecture include the Art Deco style, which was popular from the 1920s to 1940s, especially on government edifices, banks and theaters, and various "modern" styles that can be seen on banks and office buildings from the 1950s to 1970s. These buildings of the recent past, like their more "quaint" predecessors, are a sign of their times, and are joining the ranks of historically significant buildings in Virginia's commercial districts.

Transportation

The establishment and maintenance of public roads were among the most important functions of the county court system during the colonial period in Virginia. Each road was opened and maintained by an Overseer (or Surveyor) of the Highways appointed yearly by the Gentlemen Justices of each county. For these purposes, he was usually assigned all the able-bodied men (the "Labouring Male Tithables") living on or near the road. These individuals then furnished their own tools, wagons and teams and were required to work on the roads for six days each year.

Some of Virginia's most prominent early roads include:

• Great Wagon Road (Great Valley Road)--Many early German and Scots-Irish settlers used what became known as the Great Wagon Road to move from Pennsylvania southward through the Shenandoah Valley through Virginia and the Carolinas to Georgia, a distance of about 800 miles. Beginning first as a buffalo trail, a great Indian Road (the Great Warrior Path) ran north and south through the Shenandoah Valley, extending from New York to the Carolinas. Virginia Main Street communities along this route include Winchester and Staunton.
• The Wilderness Road--The road through the Cumberland Gap was not officially named "the Wilderness Road" until 1796 when it was widened enough to allow Conestoga Wagons to travel on it. However, by the time Kentucky had become a State (1792), estimates are that 70,000 settlers had poured into the area through the Cumberland Gap, following this route. The Wilderness Road connected to the Great Valley Road which came through the Shenandoah Valley from Pennsylvania. Virginia Main Street communities near this route include Radford and Marion.
• The Three Chopt (or Three Notch'd) Road--In the early 1700s settlers traveled the major east-west route from Richmond to a pass in the Blue Ridge Mountains named Wood's Gap (Jarman's Gap), paralleling the James and Rivanna rivers. This thoroughfare, the Three Notch'd Road or Three Chopt Road, threaded its way through the Southwest Mountains east of the Rivanna River Gap following an Indian hunting path through the region. Virginia Main Street Communities near this route include Orange, Waynesboro and Staunton.

These roads were often poorly maintained and caused severe problems for those wishing to move goods from one location to another. Virginia's rivers, such as the Blackwater River through Franklin, provided a smoother mode of transportation and were used as trade routes early in the Commonwealth's development. First navigated by double dugout canoes or larger boats (often called batteaux, a derivation of bateaux, the French word for boats), many of the Virginia's rivers, including the James, Appomattox, Maury, New, Staunton/Roanoke, Rappahannock, Rivanna and Potomac, began to receive "improvements," such as wing dams, sluices (channels for swift water) and even locks. As the systems of canals and locks adjacent to the relatively wild rivers were developed, towns in their vicinity flourished. Virginia Main Street Communities that were particularly impacted by advances in river navigation include Lynchburg (James River), Lexington (Maury River), Radford (New River), and Winchester and Berryville (Shenandoah River).

When the railroad began to take prominence in the mid-19th century, their holding companies purchased many canals, laying tracks on their towpaths (paths running parallel to the canal that allow mules to tow canal boats via a rope). It did not take long for the railroad to become the premier mode of transport in Virginia. In fact, every Virginia Main Street Community has or had a rail line running through it. Many of these communities have restored their train depots and auxiliary buildings, including Staunton, Rocky Mount, Danville, Orange, Manassas, Bedford and Lynchburg.

The Virginia State Highway Commission was established in 1906, with responsibility for construction and maintenance of the State highway system. In 1918, Virginia's General Assembly designated a network of 4,002 miles of roadway, with the counties responsible for lesser roadways. By the late 1920s, the automobile had firmly established itself as the newest and most improved method of travel in the State. In 1932, the General Assembly passed the Byrd Road Act, establishing the State secondary road system and allowing the counties to transfer responsibility for secondary roads to the Virginia Department of Highways (which became the largest State agency in personnel and expenditures by 1938). Virginia, like the rest of the country, embraced the automobile and the ease of travel it provided. Furthermore, the development of the automobile and modern roadways greatly facilitated the growth of tourism in Virginia, which has become a major factor in the State's economy over the last century.

List of Sites

Begin the Tour

Bedford

Since the mid-18th century, a settlement has existed on the site of this picturesque town that is surrounded by the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The settlement was originally named Liberty when it became the county seat of Bedford County in 1782. The community would carry that name for more than 100 years, until in 1890 it was officially changed to Bedford City, and soon after shortened to just Bedford.

The driving economic force in Bedford during the 19th and early 20th centuries was tobacco production. The antebellum years of 1830 to 1860 saw the real beginning of the local tobacco industry. No industrial or commercial buildings survive from the antebellum era, but a number of churches and houses are extant, including Avenel, the 1836 home of Virginia politician William H. Burwell. In June of 1864, Liberty was the scene of combat between Union General David Hunter and Confederate General Jubal Early, with fighting taking place in Centertown. The Union Army was pushed out of town, and Early followed Hunter west toward Hanging Rock (Salem).

In the 1870s and 1880s, the local tobacco industry grew dramatically. By 1881, Bedford was the fifth largest manufacturing center in Virginia with 11 tobacco manufacturers. But during these prosperous years, a devastating fire spread through the commercial area of the city on October 12, 1884, destroying almost every building in its path and causing close to $1 million worth of damage. Learning from this experience, Bedford created a municipal water supply system and reconstructed its commercial area. As a measure of fire prevention, the new commercial buildings were all constructed of brick, and some with cast iron fronts such as the building at 110 North Bridge Street. Other impressive buildings dating from this period are the Romanesque Masonic Hall erected in 1895, which now serves as the Bedford City/County Museum, and the commercial complex at 112-114-116 North Bridge Street.

During World War II, Bedford provided a company of soldiers (Company A) to the 29th Infantry Division when the National Guard's 116th Infantry Regiment was activated. On D-Day--June 6, 1944--Company A assaulted Omaha Beach as part of the First Division's Task Force O. By day's end, 19 of the company's Bedford soldiers were dead. Two more Bedford soldiers died later in the Normandy campaign, as did yet another two assigned to other 116th Infantry companies. Bedford's population in 19 44 was about 3,200. Proportionally this community suffered the Nation's severest D-Day losses. Recognizing Bedford as symbolic of all communities, large and small, whose citizen-soldiers served on D-Day, Congress warranted the establishment of the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford.

In 1984, the Bedford Historic District was listed in the National Register, and the following year Bedford became a designated Virginia Main Street community. The community's Centerfest, held annually in September, farmers market, renovation incentives and other Main Street activities led by Bedford Main Street, Inc. have been widely emulated in other communities for almost two decades. Since 1985, almost 400 buildings have been rehabilitated in Bedford with $10.7 million in private funds and $16.6 million in public funds invested in the downtown.

The Bedford Historic District is located at the intersections of U.S. Rte. 460 Business, VA Rte. 43 and VA Rte. 122, and is roughly bounded by Longwood, Bedford and Mountain aves., and Peaks, Oak, Grove and Washington sts. Bedford Main Street, Inc. is located at 108 ½ Main St. and is open from 9:00am to 5:00pm, Monday-Friday. For more information about shopping, dining and events in downtown Bedford call Bedford Main Street at 540-586-2148.

Berryville Historic District

Located in the northern Shenandoah Valley, Berryville emerged as a modest colonial crossroads community in the late 18th century. Originally called Battletown, the community became Berryville when Benjamin Berry and his wife, Sarah Stribling Berry, applied for the establishment of a town at this location, which was granted by the Virginia General Assembly in 1798.

Berryville is situated at the crossroads of two colonial routes--Main Street and Buckmarsh Street--that linked the community's economy to commercial trade between Winchester and Alexandria, Virginia. Berryville became the county seat of the newly-formed Clarke County in 1836, which furthered the economic and political importance of the town. The Clarke County Courthouse, constructed in 1838 and individually listed in the National Register, is an excellent example of Roman Revival architecture.

Berryville experienced action during the Civil War. Most notably, John Singleton Mosby, "the Gray Ghost" of the Confederacy, raided Union General Philip Sheridan's seven-mile-long supply train in Berryville. General Robert E. Lee also camped in Berryville en route to Gettysburg. The arrival of the Shenandoah Valley Railroad in 1879 secured Berryville's regional economic future as a processing and shipping center for the farmers of the northern Shenandoah Valley east of Winchester. The railroad brought new prosperity to the community, which experienced a building boom in the 1880s that did not end until the 1930s.

Beautiful Berryville is on the doorstep of the suburbs reaching out from Washington, DC. It has, however, been able to keep its historic character and rural charm. Concerned citizens formed Downtown Berryville, Inc. in 1988, and the following year, the Berryville Historic District was listed in the National Register. The town became a designated Virginia Main Street community in 1992. Since then, close to 200 buildings have been rehabilitated in this small town of 3,000 people and $6.7 million in private funding and $340,000 in public funding invested in the downtown. A current project for Downtown Berryville is the rehabilitation of several historic barns, the Barns of Rose Hill, that will serve as a community arts center.

The Berryville Historic District is roughly bounded by U.S. Rte. 7, U.S. Rte. 340, Main, Church, and Buckmarsh sts. Downtown Berryville, Inc. is located at 5 South Church St. and is open 10:00am to 3:00pm, Monday-Friday. For more information about shopping, dining and events in downtown Berryville, call Downtown Berryville, Inc. at 540-955-4001.

Culpeper Historic District

The county seat town of Culpeper is significant for its architectural cohesiveness and associations with commercial, military, political and transportation history. Originally known as Fairfax, Culpeper was founded in 1759. Most of the commercial buildings are constructed of brick in vernacular, Italianate and Neoclassical styles. The quiet, tree-shaded residential streets hold a rich variety of domestic architecture.

The district's focal point is the Culpeper County Courthouse, completed in 1874 by Samuel Proctor, who crowned it with a fanciful cupola. Commercial history is linked with its early roads, stagecoach routes and the railroad. Long a railroad hub, Culpeper grew rapidly in the mid-1900s at the crossroads of U.S. highways 15, 29 and 522, and State routes 3 and 229. The historic depot still operates as a passenger depot, greeting Amtrak trains twice a week, and also serves as the town's Visitors Center. Military history is represented by the homes of Revolutionary War general Edward Stevens and Confederate Lieutenant General Ambrose Powell Hill. The A.P. Hill home has been renovated recently and is being used as commercial space. The town served as a staging area and hospital center for armies of both sides in the Civil War.

The Culpeper Historic District was listed in the National Register in 1987 and the following year, Culpeper became a designated Virginia Main Street community. Working with public and private stakeholders, the downtown organization, Culpeper Renaissance, Inc., has worked on revitalization efforts for 15 years. A downtown economy that was once based on the five-and-dime store and agricultural services has transitioned to a vibrant mix of locally owned shops and restaurants that keep the activity humming day and evening. Since 1988, more than 320 buildings have been rehabilitated with $28 million in private funding and $2.6 million in public funding invested in the downtown.

The Culpeper Historic District is bounded by Edmonson, Stevens and West sts. and the tracks of the Southern Railroad. Culpeper Renaissance, Inc. is located at 233 E. Davis St. and is open from 9:00am to 5:00pm. For more information about shopping, dining and events in downtown Culpeper, call Culpeper Renaissance, Inc. at 540-825-4416.

Burgandine House

The Burgandine House has long been considered to be Culpeper's oldest dwelling. Architectural evidence suggests that as originally built, it was a story-and-half structure constructed in the late 18th century or the first part of the 19th century, and was probably a laborer's residence. The building's original core employs plank log construction, a construction method not unusual for area vernacular houses. It later received a porch and was covered with weatherboards. A wing (since removed) was added in the mid-19th century. At one time, the Burgandine House was used as a tavern.

Despite other modifications, the original simple lines of the house betray its early origins. The house was donated to the town of Culpeper in 1966 and has since served as the headquarters of the Culpeper Historical Society. This small, historic dwelling was restored in 1997.

The Burgandine House is located at 107 South Main St., in Culpeper. Call 540-829-6434 for seasonal visiting hours and days as well as additional information.

Downtown Danville Historic District

Danville is located in the southern Piedmont area on the banks of the Dan River. As in other sections of the Virginia Piedmont, tobacco developed as the principal cash crop of the Dan River Valley. From the late 18th century through the late 19th century, the regional expansion of tobacco production and innovations in its cultivation and manufacture stimulated the development of Danville.

In 1856, a rail connection from Danville to Richmond was completed. With this connection to outside markets and the rise of tobacco prices during the 1840s and 1850s, Danville emerged as an important tobacco manufacturing center. During this period, Danville's commercial district continued to develop along the town's principal thoroughfare, Main Street. During the Civil War, Danville acted for a brief time as the capital of the Confederacy after the Confederate government evacuated Richmond. Despite Danville's role during the Confederacy's troubled last days, the Civil War left the city virtually unscathed. In the 1870s and 1880s, Danville emerged as the dominant tobacco market in the bright leaf tobacco belt of Virginia and North Carolina.

The city's tobacconists began to channel some of their profits into textile manufacturing and erected large brick factories along the river. Danville's commercial district mirrored the city's economic good fortunes. Commercial buildings sprang up along the cross streets that connected Main Street to the tobacco warehouse and factory districts. The present Masonic Building, Danville's first skyscraper, was constructed from 1921 to 1922 to alleviate a shortage of office space in the downtown. Banks, theaters, government buildings and fraternal organization buildings dot the downtown landscape as well, and add to the rich architectural character of Danville.

With the decline of the textile and tobacco industries and suburban growth at the outskirts of the city, Danville's downtown commercial activity began to decelerate. Initiated by the city government, the Downtown Danville Historic District was listed in the National Register in 1993. In 2000, Danville became a designated Virginia Main Street community. The Downtown Danville Association has spearheaded revitalization efforts. Since 2000, more than 30 buildings have been rehabilitated with more than $400,000 in private funding and $135,000 in public funding invested in the downtown.

The Downtown Danville Historic District is roughly bounded by Memorial Dr. and High, Patton and Ridge sts. The Downtown Danville Association is located at 635 Main St. and is open from 9:00am to 5:00pm, Monday-Friday. For more information about shopping, dining and events in downtown Danville, call the Downtown Danville Association at 434-791-4470.

Danville Historic District

The Danville Historic District contains perhaps the finest and most concentrated collection of Victorian and Edwardian residential architecture in Virginia. Lining Main Street and adjacent side streets is a splendid assemblage of the full range of architectural styles from the Antebellum era to World War I, including Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Romanesque, American Queen Anne and the Beaux Arts classicism of the early 20th century. The existence of these impressive dwellings--many constructed after the Civil War--is because of Danville's prosperity from the tobacco trade and other industries at a time when much of Virginia was suffering the effects brought on by the devastating Civil War and Reconstruction period. The leaders of the tobacco industry were among the first to erect handsome mansions along Main Street. The Penn-Wyatt House, constructed in 1876 by James Gabriel Penn at 862 Main Street, stands as visual evidence of the wealth and architectural taste afforded by the tobacco industry. The houses of the tobacco industrialists soon began to vie in splendor with those of the leaders of Danville's growing textile industry. In 1882, the three Schoolfield brothers along with Thomas Fitzgerald founded the textile mills that became known as Dan River, Inc., makers of world famous Dan River fabrics. The Schoolfields constructed several fine houses in the district, and 844 Main Street (the Schoolfield-Compson House) ranks among the finest High Victorian dwellings in the State.

Most of this post-Civil War residential growth took place on the hill to the south of the commercial district, in farm land that once was dominated by the Italian villa-style house of Major William T. Sutherlin. Long used as the public library and later as the Danville Chapter of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Sutherlin Mansion received fame in 1865 when it served as the last official residence of Confederate President Jefferson Davis after the fall of Richmond to the Union armies. Based on available historical research, two early 19th-century houses, located within the district at 770 Main Streets and 225 Jefferson Avenue, stand as the oldest houses in Danville.

The Danville Historic District is roughly bounded by Main, Green and Paxton sts., and Memorial Hospital. The houses within the district are private, and not open to the public. Brochures providing further information about Danville's historic districts are available at the Danville Welcome Center, located at 645 Riverpark Dr., or by calling the center at 434-793-4636.

Danville Tobacco Warehouse and Residential Historic District

Occupying some 40 blocks of the heart of the city, this historic district formed the economic wellspring of 19th-century Danville. The various warehouses, factories, shops and dwellings display the city's mill-town personality and the rise of its working class. Industrial activity in Danville grew in conjunction with the development of its transportation systems and with the cultivation of bright-leaf tobacco, which shaped Danville into one of the South's primary tobacco markets. The tobacco industry achieved its greatest growth in the 1870s and 1880s with the emergence of plug and twist tobacco manufacture. Today the district is composed of approximately 585 buildings related to the development of Danville's tobacco enterprise. Some 37 of the buildings are factories, auction warehouses or storage facilities, all constructed between 1870 and 1910. The residential area contains approximately 450 workers' dwellings erected between 1880 and the 1930s.

The Danville Tobacco Warehouse and Residential Historic District is roughly bounded by the south bank of the Dan River, the track of the Southern Railroad, and Jefferson St., Wilson St., Monument Crt. and Patton St. Brochures providing further information about Danville's historic districts are available at the Danville Welcome Center, located at 645 Riverpark Dr., or by calling the center at 434-793-4636. Danville's Tobacco District has also been documented by the Historic American Engineering Record.

Danville Public Library

The Danville Public Library was originally the Sutherlin House, which was built for Major William T. Sutherlin in 1857-58 on a four-acre plot on Danville's Main Street. Major Sutherlin was a member of the historic Virginia Convention of 1861, and at the outbreak of the Civil War he became Chief Quartermaster for Danville with the rank of major. On April 2, 1865, when it became obvious that the Confederate forces could no longer defend Richmond, the Confederate government decided to leave the city for the temporary capital at Danville. President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet arrived in Danville on April 3, 1865, and it was decided that the Confederate president would be the guest of Major Sutherlin. While at this house, on April 4, 1865, President Davis signed his last official proclamation as President of the Confederate States of America. It is believed that President Davis received the news of General Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House while having dinner at the Sutherlin House on April 10, 1865. That evening he and his fugitive government left Danville for Greensboro, North Carolina, on their "flight into oblivion." The exhausted Confederacy surrendered, piece by piece, soon after. The Danville Public Library, a two-story stuccoed house, is an outstanding example of the Italian villa style. Today the Danville Public Library is the Danville Museum of Fine Arts & History.

The Danville Public Library, now the Danville Museum of Fine Arts & History, is located at 975 Main St. It is open Tuesday-Friday 10:00am to 5:00pm, and Saturday-Sunday 2:00pm to 5:00pm. There is no admission fee, but contributions are welcome to support the cultural and educational mission of the museum. Please call 434-793-5644 for additional information or visit the museum's website.

Franklin Historic District

Franklin is located on the Blackwater River in the lower Tidewater area of Virginia. Nine miles from the North Carolina border and 40 miles west of Norfolk, Franklin began its history as a transportation center. In 1835, the Blackwater Depot, soon after named the Franklin Depot, opened. It is not known how the Depot received the name "Franklin." Passengers from Norfolk could travel to the Depot and depart by stagecoach for points further north or west, or they could board one of several steamships docked at the nearby wharf to continue their journey to North Carolina.

Throughout the 1850s, commerce on the railroad and Blackwater River flourished. New steamboat companies sent their steamers into the Franklin Depot to pick up bales of cotton, livestock, slaughtered beef and pork and other products. In 1856, a saw mill was constructed opposite Franklin on the Blackwater River. This mill, operated by R.J. and William Neely, processed huge amounts of wood products that were sent by rail to the Norfolk market and elsewhere. Today, International Paper operates a paper processing plant in Franklin and is the largest individual employer in the area.

Although Franklin did not see direct action during the Civil War, the community suffered from the disruption of rail and river commerce. After the Civil War, Franklin Depot was active again and became a major exporting point for the "ground pea," better known as the peanut, which became a popular food product in the late 19th century. Southampton County, in which Franklin is located, leads the State in peanut production today. In 1881, a fire destroyed all of the commercial buildings in the community. An ordinance was adopted that only allowed for brick or stone buildings. Today the downtown consists almost entirely of rows of brick buildings that post-date the 1881 fire.

The Franklin Historic District was listed in the National Register in 1985, and that same year the community became a designated Virginia Main Street community. The Downtown Franklin Association has led revitalization efforts for nearly 20 years. Since 1985, almost 380 buildings have been rehabilitated with $22.4 million in private funding and $7.6 million in public funding invested in downtown.

The Franklin Historic District is located at U.S. 58 and U.S. 258. The Downtown Franklin Association is located at 111 N. Main St. and is open from 9:00am to 5:00pm, Monday-Friday. For more information about shopping, dining and events in downtown Franklin, call the Downtown Franklin Association at 757-562-6900.

The Elms

Built by Paul D. Camp, a founder of the Camp Manufacturing Company, today's Union Camp Corporation, the Elms stands as a tangible symbol of the success of a large industrial enterprise. The lumber industry that Camp and his brothers developed in Southampton County after the Civil War revived the economy of southeastern Tidewater Virginia and also enabled the Camp family to create new cultural resources for the Franklin area in the form of schools and libraries. The spacious late Victorian house, built in 1897, exemplifies the residences built by well-to-do small-town businessmen and community leaders in the late 19th century. Typical of such houses, it has numerous gables, a corner tower, long front porch and decorative interior woodwork. Now owned by the Camp family foundations, the Elms is used for the management of philanthropic activities and for special functions.

The Elms is located at the intersection of Clay and Gay sts. in Franklin. It is not open to the public.

Harrisonburg Downtown Historic District

Harrisonburg was established as the county seat of Rockingham County in 1779 and developed into an agricultural powerhouse in the 19th and 20th centuries. The City’s downtown historic district is centered around Court Square, which is dominated by the impressive courthouse. Harrisonburg has what cultural geographer Edward T. Price defines as the “Harrisonburg Plan,” with streets that intersect or are tangential to the sides of the courthouse square. In his seminal article on America’s courthouse squares, Price cited Harrisonburg as the earliest known occurrence of this plan, which later appeared in Georgia and Ohio. From early stone, brick and log houses to more commanding commercial buildings of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Harrisonburg’s downtown presents a wide range of buildings that reflect the town’s history.

As the county seat, Harrisonburg naturally developed as the commercial hub of Rockingham County, which by the antebellum period had grown into an agricultural powerhouse. In 1850, Rockingham County was the largest producer of wheat and hay in the state. A handful of buildings remain from the antebellum period, including the Hardesty-Higgins House at 212 S. Main, which now are the offices of Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance, and the Warren-Sipe House at 301 S. Main, which currently houses the Virginia Quilt Museum.

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad reached Harrisonburg in 1868, which contributed to the community’s growth. Stylish homes were constructed along Main Street, such as the grand Queen Anne Joshua Wilton House, constructed in 1890, and now a bed and breakfast. A watershed event in Harrisonburg’s architectural and civic development was the construction of the present courthouse in 1896-1897. The imposing Romanesque/Renaissance Revival style building was the work of prolific Staunton architectural firm T.J. Collins & Son and Washington, D.C. builder W.E. Speirs, and it introduced a new level of sophistication to the downtown.

Harrisonburg during the early 20th century continued to benefit from the agricultural bounty of the surrounding countryside. Poultry production became increasingly profitable as the century progressed, and Rockingham County became a national leader in the poultry trade. Out of this success in the poultry industry came a range of specialized building types constructed in the 1910s through the 1950s, including hotels, warehouses, factories and service stations. The Chesapeake Western Railways station, built in 1913 at 141 West Bruce Street, fostered the growth of an industrial and warehouse district along what became known as Chesapeake Avenue.

In the 1960s, Harrisonburg followed a national trend of demolishing vacant or older structures to make way for new buildings. Over the last 30 years, several revitalization initiatives were undertaken by citizens’ groups or the city. Each effort was met with some success, however the work was not sustained due to the all-volunteer effort and lack of sufficient funding. With the organization of Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance in 2003, there is new optimism that downtown revitalization will continue to be a public and private priority. Rehabilitation projects are now underway, including the conversion of the prominent Wetsel Seed Company Building into apartments and offices, as well as a major streetscaping project for the downtown. Harrisonburg became a designated Virginia Main Street community in 2004.

The Harrisonburg Downtown Historic District is located primarily along Main St. between Kratzer Ave. and Grace St. Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance is located at 212 S. Main St. and is open from 9:00am to 5:00pm, Monday-Friday. For more information about shopping, dining and events call Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance at 540-432-8922.

Lexington Historic District

Lexington is located in the central Shenandoah Valley and is the county seat for Rockbridge County. The city was incorporated in 1841 and, almost from the beginning, its main industry was education. Both Washington & Lee University and Virginia Military Institute are located within the historic district.

Liberty Hall Academy was established in 1790 just to the west of the town. When George Washington made a sizable gift to the college's endowment, the institution's name was changed to Washington College in honor of the Nation's first president. At the end of the Civil War, the presidency of the college was offered to General Robert E. Lee, who presided over it for the five years preceding his death. Shortly thereafter, the trustees renamed the school Washington & Lee University.

In 1816, the General Assembly of Virginia established an arsenal in Lexington. By the mid-1830s, a prominent local attorney and graduate of Washington College, John T.L. Preston, advocated the establishment of a State military school at the arsenal. The Virginia Military Institute enrolled its first cadets in November of 1839 and prospered in the years prior to the Civil War. Among its faculty was Major Thomas J. Jackson, later to acquire fame in the Civil War as "Stonewall" Jackson.

Lexington began to grow with the arrival of the railroad between 1860 and 1880. The speculative real estate boom of the 1890s, which saw the Lexington Land Company acquire 1,275 acres to the west of the town and along the railroad and river fronts, also helped bolster the local economy. The commercial area of Lexington is grounded along Main Street with historic development also along Randolph, Jefferson, Washington and Henry streets. Primarily constructed of brick, the historic commercial buildings date from the early 19th to early 20th centuries. Several churches remain on Main Street, including the Greek Revival Presbyterian Church constructed in 1843.

The Lexington Historic District was listed in the National Register in 1972. It was not a high vacancy rate that motivated the Main Street effort in Lexington, but the precarious nature of the downtown economy that had to be dealt with proactively. The town, merchants and citizens realized it was not enough to have beautiful, historic buildings--they had to look at the downtown comprehensively. Lexington was designated a Virginia Main Street community in 1988 and the Lexington Downtown Development Association has led revitalization efforts. Since 1988, almost 235 buildings have been rehabilitated with $11 million in private funding and close to $200,000 in public funding invested in downtown.

The Lexington Historic District is roughly bounded by Chesapeake and Ohio RR, Graham and Jackson aves., and Estill and Jordan sts. The Lexington Downtown Development Association is located at 101 S. Main St. and is open from 9:00am to 5:00pm, Monday-Friday. For more information about shopping, dining and events in downtown Lexington, call the Lexington Downtown Development Association at 540-463-7191.

Virginia Military Institute Historic District

Organized in 1839, Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is the Nation's earliest State-supported military school and has supplied the country with many outstanding military leaders, most prominently General of the Army George C. Marshall. The campus consists of some 25 major buildings united by a castellated Gothic Revival style. The focal point, The Barracks, is a much-evolved complex originally designed by Alexander Jackson Davis. Davis also designed Gothic Revival faculty houses lining the Parade Ground, of which the Gilham house (1852) and the Superintendent's Quarters (1860) survive. In the 1910s, architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue was commissioned for Jackson Memorial Hall and additional faculty houses. The original Gothic character established by Davis has been carefully maintained in these and later works. Lending variety is a scattering of 19th-century and later dwellings including the Gothic Revival Pendleton-Coles cottage where General. Marshall was married.

During the Civil War, 21 VMI alumni and faculty served as generals in the Confederate army, including such noted battlefield leaders as Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, Robert E. Rhodes and William Mahone. One of the most famous events that involved cadets from the Virginia Military Institute occurred during the Civil War in 1864. Union General Franz Sigel and 10,000 troops marched up the Shenandoah Valley from Winchester in May of that year with the objective of Staunton, where he could cut the Virginia Central Railroad (now the C&O RR), and thus deprive General Lee's army and Richmond of one of their chief sources of supply. Confederate General John C. Breckinridge, former Vice President of the U. S., took command of the Confederate forces in the Valley, and called on VMI to supply him with much needed man power. The VMI Corps of Cadets fought as a unit at the Battle of New Market, Virginia, on May 15, 1864. Two hundred fifty seven cadets were on the field, organized into a battalion of four companies of Infantry and one section of Artillery. Ten cadets were killed in battle or died later from the effects of their wounds; 45 were wounded. The youngest participating cadet was 15; the oldest 25. The Confederates won the battle, with the VMI Corps of Cadets performing well.

VMI was shelled and burned on June 12, 1864, by Union General David Hunter. Due to the tireless efforts of Superintendent Francis H. Smith and the faculty, VMI reopened its doors to classes on October 17, 1865, and the school continues to educate citizen-soldiers to serve their State and country.

The Virginia Military Institute, a National Historic Landmark, is located in Lexington. The main entrance is located off Letcher Ave., near the intersection of Jefferson St. Tours of the campus are available. The VMI Museum is currently closed for expansion, but the George Marshall Museum, located on the Virginia Military Institute Parade, is open 9:00am to 5:00pm daily, except major holidays. There is a fee for admission. For further information, visit the school's website. VMI has also been documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey

Washington and Lee University Historic District

The historic heart of Washington and Lee University is an architecturally harmonious complex of buildings forming one of the Nation's most dignified and beautiful campuses. The central element, the Colonnade, gives the impression of a single design concept. It is, in reality, the product of a building program extending over 150 years. The first buildings of the program, erected in 1803 for what was then Washington College, have disappeared. The classical theme of the complex was established with the oldest existing building, the temple-form Washington Hall of 1824. Its builder-architects, John Jordan and Samuel Darst, here transformed the prevailing Roman Revival style into a sturdy regional idiom. Washington Hall was flanked by Payne Hall in 1831 and by Robinson Hall in 1843. Two pairs of porticoed faculty residences were also added to the complex. Stylistically contrasting elements are the distinctive President's House of 1868 and the neo-Norman style Lee Chapel, constructed in 1867, and now a National Historic Landmark. Robert E. Lee, the president of the college at the time, was instrumental in having the chapel constructed. The body of the former Confederate commander lay in State in the chapel in 1870 and was later interred in a family crypt established here. Lee's office in the chapel has been carefully preserved as he left it.

The Washington and Lee University Historic District, a National Historic Landmark, is located in Lexington. The main entrance to the campus is located off Rte. 11 Business, past the Virginia Military Institute. Parking is available in the Lee Chapel lot on Jefferson St. For more information, visit the university's website. Lee Chapel is open April-October, Monday-Saturday, 9:00am to 5:00pm and Sunday 1:00pm to 5:00pm; from November-March, the chapel closes at 4:00pm. Visit the chapel's website for further information. Washington and Lee University has also been documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey

Stonewall Jackson House

From 1859 to 1861, this early 19th-century dwelling near the county courthouse was home to Confederate Lieutenant General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson and his wife Mary Anna. It was built for Cornelius Dorman in 1801 as a typical Valley I-house. The facade was altered and a stone addition was erected before Jackson bought it. In 1906, the house was sold to the United Daughters of the Confederacy and incorporated into the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital, with the front being completely altered in a Classical Revival style. In the 1970s, the Historic Lexington Foundation, with architect Milton L. Grigg, undertook the restoration of the house to its appearance during Jackson's tenure, even reproducing the mid-19th-century facade with its shifted openings. The house is now a museum honoring the life of one the most brilliant military tacticians in history. Jackson is buried beneath his statue in Stonewall Jackson Cemetery in downtown Lexington.

The Stonewall Jackson House is located at 8 East Washington St., one block west of Lexington's Visitor Center. Public parking is available at the Visitor Center. The Stonewall Jackson House is currently closed for renovations during which time the Museum Shop and a free exhibit space will be open next door at 10 East Washington St. When the house reopens in mid-May 2004, it will be open 9:00am to 5:00pm, Monday-Saturday, and 1:00pm to 5:00pm Sunday, tours begin every half hour. There is a fee for admission. For more information call 540-463-2552 or visit the museum's website.

Luray Downtown Historic District

Luray, located in Page County, developed as a county commercial center soon after the town’s establishment in 1812. In 1831, Luray became the county seat and later experienced considerable prosperity following the construction of the Shenandoah Valley Railroad through the town in 1881. With the discovery and opening of nearby natural attraction Luray Caverns in the 1880s and the development of the Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive in the 1920s and 1930s, the town grew well into the 20th century.

Luray was platted around 1812 as a double file of 18 lots extending along Main Street (then known as Peter Street) from Hawksbill Creek to the present Court Street. Main Street was a section of the road that passed through the Blue Ridge and Massanutten Mountain to connect the Page Valley to the Piedmont and the Shenandoah Valley proper. Documented and surviving early buildings indicate that the town’s initial building stock was primarily of log construction. The oldest extant dwelling is the log house of William R. Almond, which survives incorporated into the Almond-Amiss Building at 101 W. Main Street.

With the completion of the Page County Courthouse in 1833, commercial activity was stimulated with the development of hotels and law offices, as well as small-scale industrial development such as blacksmithing and tanning. Three residential-commercial buildings survive from this era: the 1835 Yager Building at 230-232 W. Main; the 1830s Jordon-McKim House at 221 W. Main; and the circa 1850 Hotel Laurence at 301 W. Main. The commercial function of Luray’s antebellum commercial-residential buildings took the form of general merchandising to supply townspeople and area farmers with staple and luxury goods.

The 1880s were an important period in the development of Luray. In 1881, the Shenandoah Railroad built its line through town, setting off a wave of industrial and residential construction. According to the Federal census, the town’s population more than doubled between 1880 and 1890, from 630 to 1,386. Luray’s hotels were sustained by the popularity of nearby Luray Caverns—according to period reports, 15,000 tourists visited the cave annually in the early 1880s. The development of the Shenandoah National Park and the Skyline Drive in the 1920s and 1930s attracted the motoring public to the area and provided clientele for Luray’s grandest hotel, the Mimslyn Inn, which was constructed in 1930-31.

With the construction of the Route 211 by-pass in the 1970s, diverting travelers around the town, and the arrival of large national retailers to the west of town, downtown Luray started to languish as a retail center. However, efforts are underway to change this situation. Several buildings have been rehabilitated, including the train station, the former Cave’s Hardware Store and the former Graves Motor Company, into new retail spaces. The Luray-Hawksbill Greenway, recently completed, provides a fitness and walking trail for visitors and residents. In 2004, the Luray Downtown Initiative, Inc. was formed to lead the downtown revitalization efforts, and that same year, Luray was designated a Virginia Main Street community.

The Luray Downtown Historic District is located along Main, Court and Broad sts. The Luray Downtown Initiative (www.townofluray.com) is located at 127 E. Main St. and is open from 9:00am to 5:00pm, Monday-Friday. For more information about shopping, dining, and events in downtown Luray, call the Luray Downtown Initiative at 540-743-7700.

Court House Hill/Downtown Historic District

Lynchburg, located on the James River in the southern Piedmont area, was first settled by Quakers from Pennsylvania and the Tidewater area of Virginia in the 1750s. John Lynch, the merchant for whom the city is named, helped to establish the settlement along the James River with the construction of Lynch's Ferry in 1757. By the 1780s, bateaux were transporting tobacco down the James River to Richmond, and Lynch's Ferry had expanded to include a tobacco warehouse, a tavern and a mill. In 1786, the town of Lynchburg was established, and in 1813, the first Lynchburg Courthouse was constructed on Court House Hill. That building was torn down and another courthouse constructed in 1851, which remains standing today.

Tobacco continued to be Lynchburg's primary industry during the first half of the 19th century. During the 1840s and 1850s, several railroad lines were constructed through Lynchburg. In 1859, a Richmond newspaper reported that Lynchburg was "the hub of the Virginia system of railroads." Lynchburg experienced fighting during the Civil War. On June 18, 1864, General Jubal Early and local troops successfully defended the city against Union General David Hunter in the Battle of Lynchburg. In 1865, however, Lynchburg surrendered to Union forces and remained under military rule until 1870. During the 1880s, the city shifted away from the tobacco industry and took advantage of its location midway between the manufacturers of the Northern and Southern markets to become a major wholesale distribution and jobbing center for the South. A number of warehouses and jobbing houses, as well as mills and foundries, were constructed along the railroad and the James River during this period.

The commercial area along Commerce and Main streets prospered with the development of the new industries. Not only did a number of stores line these streets to sell manufactured goods, but large financial institutions were established as well, to handle the banking needs generated by such prosperity. During the 1920s, Lynchburg's economy continued to prosper and the city's first true skyscraper, the Allied Arts Building, was constructed in 1929. Located at 725 Church Street, the building was designed by Lynchburg architectss Stanhope Johnson and Ray Brannan. It stands at 17 stories and was the first Art Deco style building constructed in Lynchburg.

Although Lynchburg remains a major city in this region, by the mid-20th century, many of the factors that established it as a transportation, shipping and manufacturing center declined. As residents moved out to the suburbs, many of the retail stores along Main Street moved to the suburban shopping centers as well. Lynchburg became a designated Virginia Main Street community in 2000, and a year later, the Court House Hill/Downtown District was listed in the National Register. Lynch's Landing has led the city's downtown revitalization efforts. Since 2000, close to 30 buildings have been rehabilitated, primarily large scale projects such as the City Market Lofts. Private funding totalling $20.5 million and $11 million in public funding has been invested in downtown since 2000.

The Court House Hill/Downtown Historic District is roughly bounded by 5th, Harrison, 7th, Court, 12th and Main sts. in Lynchburg. Lynch's Landing is located at 210 8th St. and is open from 9:00am to 5:00pm, Monday-Friday. For more information about shopping, dining and events in downtown Lynchburg, call Lynch's Landing at 434-528-3950.

Lynchburg's Downtown Residential Historic Districts

Four residential historic districts encompassing nearly 500 significant buildings are found throughout Lynchburg's downtown. Located on a ridge above the James River, Daniel's Hill Historic District is a residential neighborhood that displays a variety of 19th-century architectural styles. Concentrated building activity began in the 1840s after the subdivision of the Cabell-Daniel family plantation whose mansion, Point of Honor, forms the neighborhood's focal point. Cabell Street, the district's main street, is lined with a progression of mid- and late 19th-century mansions, all solid examples of their respective styles. Particularly interesting is the Y-shaped dwelling at Cabell and B streets, built in 1875 by architect Robert C. Burkholder as his residence. More typical is the 1853 to 1854 Greek Revival Dabney-Scott-Adams House at 405 Cabell Street. Another Greek Revival landmark is Rivermont, a frame mansion. Contrasting with these high style dwellings are the vernacular workers' houses scattered along the back streets. Protected by historic zoning, the district is undergoing slow rehabilitation.

Immediately south of downtown Lynchburg, the Diamond Hill Historic District was once one of the city's most prestigious residential neighborhoods. Its development began in the 1820s, and it enjoyed its greatest popularity at the turn of the century, which was marked by the construction of numerous large residences, ranging from speculative rental units to stately architect designed houses usually in the Queen Anne or Georgian Revival styles. The family homes of businessmen and civic and political leaders were clustered along Washington, Clay, Pearl and Madison streets, with Washington Street the most prestigious address. Especially interesting is the Queen Anne style residence at 1314 Clay Street designed by architect J. M. B. Lewis as his residence. After a significant decline, Diamond Hill in recent years has experienced considerable preservation activity.

Building in Lynchburg occurred on its several hills--one of the earliest and most distinctive historic districts lies on Federal Hill. The Federal Hill Historic District served primarily as a residential area favored by merchants and civic leaders. Spread through the district's dozen blocks is an assemblage of freestanding dwellings in architectural styles popular from the early 1880s through the early 1900s. Most significant are the neighborhood's early Federal houses, which include some of the oldest and finest dwellings in the city, among them the Roane-Rodes House on Harrison Street (built around 1816) and the 1817 Norvell-Otey House built on Federal Street for banker William Norvell. Several other early Federal houses, including the Micajah Davis and Gordon houses, built before 1819, are scattered along Jackson Street. This area was incorporated into Lynchburg through annexations in 1814 and 1819.

Another historic district that sprang up on Lynchburg's hills is the Garland Hill Historic District. Named for Samuel Garland, Sr., a local lawyer who was among the area's first residents, Garland Hill remains perhaps the best preserved of the prosperous neighborhoods that sprang up in Lynchburg during the 19th century. The hill, subdivided into approximately 10 blocks in 1845, built up slowly, so that it now has a rich mixture of freestanding houses representing styles in vogue from the 1840s to World War I. The grandest dwellings line Madison Street. At its eastern end are two large Queen Anne residences: the 1897 Frank P. Christian House and the 1898 George P. Watkins House, both designed by Edward G. Frye. The most impressive building is the huge Ambrose H. Burroughs House of 1900, a castle-like dwelling designed by J. M. B. Lewis. Because there are no through streets, an air of quiet dignity still pervades the district.

Daniel's Hill Historic District is roughly bounded by Cabell, Norwood, Hancock and Stonewall sts. from 6th St. to H St. Diamond Hill Historic District is roughly bounded by Dunbar Dr., Main, Jackson and Arch sts. Federal Hill Historic District is roughly bounded by 8th, 12th, Harrison and Polk sts. Garland Hill Historic District is roughly bounded by 5th St., Federal Ave. and the Norfolk Western RR tracks. Walking/driving tour brochures for Lynchburg's Residential Downtown Historic Districts can be obtained from the Lynchburg Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau, at 12th and Church sts., open daily from 9:00am to 5:00pm. Please call 434-847-1811 for further information. Lynchburg Historic Tours also offered guided tours of the districts, for a fee; call 434-846-1868 or visit the website (at www.lynchburgtours.com) for further information on these tours.

Academy of Music

Lynchburg's Academy of Music was built as a vaudeville theater and opera house, one of the few surviving in Virginia. Completed in 1905, it was designed by the local architectural firm of Frye and Chesterman, which embellished Lynchburg with many of its best buildings. The theater burned in 1911, but was rebuilt within its walls under the direction of architect C. K. Howell, with Lynchburg's J. M. B. Lewis as associate. The present facade is a sophisticated essay in the Neoclassical style recalling 18th-century English Palladianism. The elegant interior is enriched with plasterwork decorations and a colorful painted ceiling of clouds, muses and cherubs. In its heyday, the Academy boasted Sarah Bernhardt, Pavlova and Paderewski among its performers. Vacant for some 40 years, the theater was recently restored and returned to its place in the rich cultural life of the city.

The Academy of Music is located at 600 Main St. in Lynchburg. The Academy was preserved by several groups of Trustees, including the current group, The Academy of Music Theatre, Inc., which is committed to reviving performances, holding classes and placing the Academy back in the forefront of contemporary culture. For information about performances, visit the Academy's website or call 434-528-3256. The Academy of Music has also been documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey

Point of Honor

On the prow of Daniel's Hill overlooking the downtown, Point of Honor ranks with the Commonwealth's most articulate works of Federal architecture. Originally serving a 900-acre plantation, the house was built c. 1815 for Dr. George Cabell. Distinguished by its polygonal projections and beautifully executed interior woodwork, the house is one of several fine Piedmont houses erected for the Cabell family. Its designer is not known, but many of its details are adapted from illustrations in Owen Biddle's The Young Carpenter's Assistant, as well as design books by William Pain. Point of Honor was remodeled in the Italianate style in the mid-19th century but most of its original embellishments, save for the front porch, survived. It was acquired by the city in 1928 and received hard use as a neighborhood center until 1968 when the Historic Lynchburg Foundation undertook its restoration for a museum.

Point of Honor is located at 112 Cabell St. in Lynchburg. The house is open daily, 10:00am to 4:00pm. Please call 434-847-1459 or visit the house's website for further information. Point of Honor has also been documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey

Miller-Claytor House

The Miller-Claytor House, erected in 1791 for tavern keeper John Miller, is Lynchburg's only remaining 18th-century town house. It originally stood at Eighth and Church streets downtown, but was moved by the Lynchburg Historical Society to its present location at the entrance to Riverside Park in 1936, during Lynchburg's sesquicentennial. Serving as a historic exhibit, the two-story frame building is an intriguing example of urban vernacular architecture. The several exterior doors of its two-room plan suggest that part of the house may have been intended for commercial use. Rebuilt under the direction of Lynchburg architect Stanhope Johnson, the dwelling's orientation and garden size at the new location were carefully selected to approximate its original setting. The garden was designed by Charles F. Gillette. The property is now owned by the Lynchburg Historical Foundation.

The Miller-Claytor House is located in the Riverside Park on Miller-Claytor Ln. in Lynchburg. The home is open to the public by appointment; current plans call for it to be open once a week and two weekends a month starting in May 2004. Please contact the Lynchburg Historical Foundation at 434-528-5353 for further information. The Miller-Claytor House has also been documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey

Manassas Historic District

Manassas is located approximately 15 miles southwest of Washington, DC and during its history has been an important crossroads where the N