Located in Historic Uptown Stuart, the Patrick County Courthouse was designed and built by Abram Staples and completed in 1822. It displays many characteristics of Jefferson-inspired court buildings in the eastern and central portions of the state. Read more...
Historic Sites
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Historic Sites
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The cabin was occupied from its beginning (circa 1795) through the 1960s. See the many visible indicators of the numerous transitional modernization periods the cabin has experienced. The original builders of the cabin probably never envisioned the cabins life expectancy nor the influence its occupants would have on the cultural developments. Enjoy the stories relating to the various families occupying Read more...
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The Historic Fotheringay House is still maintained as a private residence and is not available to the public. Please be respectful of the property and respect the wishes of the property owner. Fotheringay was built soon after 1796, when Colonel George Hancock bought the property from Colonel Joseph Kent who has acquired the land in 1793. Prior to 1793, William Read more...
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Site of first county seat of Pittsylvania County. The building that served as the debtor’s prison, 1767-1771, and later as the clerk’s office, 1771-1777, remains. Nearby stands the debtor’s gaol, built in 1778. It later served as Samuel Calland’s store and in 1808 became the post office for Callands. Read more...
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Come visit the Old Brick Hotel where past boarders include lawyers and judges, hot springs visitors, and maybe Jesse James. The three-story brick building was built in three stages beginning in 1840. Located across the street from the Craig County Courthouse, it was the center of town through the boom times of the early 1900’s. Restoration was begun in 1984 Read more...
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Visitors along the Blue Ridge Parkway often overlook the fact that the landscape they are traveling was occupied in earlier historic times. Very little has survived the passage of time of the settlers and farmers who once called this home. However, several cemeteries along the route bear mute testimony to these early dwellers and their desendents. The thirty some miles Read more...
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This capricious, if provencial, expression of the Queen Anne style was briefly the home of the notorious Sidna Allen. Allen was member of the so-called Allen Gang involved in the Carroll County Courthouse shooting in 1912. The house, finished the year before the shooting, was designed by Allen and his wife. It was built by Preston Dickens, a local carpenter, Read more...
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Built in 1870 for the South Carolina & Georgia Railroad, this private car was used by the president of the railroad and is one of the oldest and finest examples of typical passenger car construction of the late 19th century. Step back in time…Visit the 101 Car in Stone Gap Virginia, now located at the Southwest Virginia Museum State Park. Read more...
The Virginia Room holds the library’s special collection of historical and genealogical research resources. We comprehensively collect materials for the Roanoke Valley and the Commonwealth of Virginia.The Virginia Room has the most extensive holdings for family history research in western Virginia, including thousands of family history books and files, county records and a growing collection of materials for African American Read more...
The Christiansburg Institute was founded in 1866 by Union Captain Charles S. Schaeffer an agent of the Freedman’s Bureau. The school was supported by the Quakers Society and the first to educate blacks in Southwest Virginia. In 1895, Booker T. Washington helped mold the school into a technical institute. Currently the buildings are in the process of restoration including the Read more...
Main Street Plaza’s most notable amenity is the multi-stage fountain that is 40 feet in diameter. In the upper stage, seven water jets shoot water vertically. The seven jets represent the Tobacco Warehouse District’s seven blocks of the Tobacco Warehouse District. JTI Fountain lights up at night and has the option of changing the color of the lights. Read more...
While searching for his lost brother who fought in the French-Indian War, James Mayo Hoge instead found his true love, Elizabeth Howe, and together they built a home on land they called Hayfield (now Belle-Hampton) in 1767. James Mayo Hoge fought courageously in the Revolutionary War along with his father-in-law, Joseph Howe and brother-in-law, Daniel Howe who lived next door Read more...
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The Floyd Country Store is renowned as a place to experience authentic Appalachian music, and is home to a group of musicians, flatfoot dancers, and cloggers who are carrying on the tradition of their families who’d pass the time playing music and dancing together. Everywhere they could these folks would gather with their friends and families from their front porch Read more...
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The beautiful old mill site on the Meherrin River has been Southside Virginia’s unofficial park for generations – and long South Hill’s best-kept secret. Recent restoration of the site and the publication of the Whittle’s Mill book have greatly heightened interest in the Meherrin River, the legacy of the Whittle family and the secrets of the old mill. The ruins Read more...
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Gretna has a great deal of railroad history. In appreciation for the benefits that resulted from the railroad’s coming through the Town, Jeremiah Talbott, in 1872, deeded a right-of-way to the Lynchburg and Danville Railroad. Construction of the L & D Railroad began in 1872 and was completed two years later. Then in 1879 the Franklin & Pittsylvania Railroad (F Read more...
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For the heritage traveler seeking former homesites of Colonial Patriots, Henry County was briefly the residence of none other than Patrick Henry – its namesake. While his stay was brief, 1779-1784, his legacy is permanent in the form of a large 10-foot tall grantite monument erected in 1922 by the Daughters of the American Revolution. A small grassy park setting Read more...
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Between 1913 and 1938, the Boone Trail Highway Memorial Association placed cast iron markers throughout the United States. This was an effort to help promote coast to coast highway improvement, tourist travel, patriotism, remembrance of the Battleship Maine, education, memorializing pioneer hero Daniel Boone, and community unity and spirit. The markers were cast from metal recovered from the Battleship Maine.The Read more...
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The Elizabeth Cemetery was associated with Elizabeth Church which is thought to have been the oldest Methodist church built in Smyth County. The land for the church and the cemetery was donated by Elizabeth Henry Campbell Russell “Madam Russell” in 1825. Located in Saltville near the civil war battlefield, this cemetery has graves dating from the time of the land Read more...
In 1865 emancipated African Americans withdrew from First Baptist Church, where they had worshiped from the balcony, and founded a congregation later known as High Street Baptist Church. Members erected their first sanctuary here in 1873. Fire destroyed that structure and its replacement, constructed in 1878. The present Romanesque Revival church was built in 1901. High Street Baptist served as Read more...
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Nestled in the Blue Ridge Plateau of Southwest Virginia in northeast Carroll County, Dinwiddie Presbyterian Church is one of six rock churches built by Rev. Bob Childress of native stone. Subject of the book, The Man Who Moved a Mountain by Richard C. Davids (1970). This is the largest of the six rock churches. Construction for the church building began Read more...
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Chartered by the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1968 with the stated purpose of collecting and preserving the history of Franklin County, Virginia. Staffed by volunteers Read more...
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The Buchanan Swinging Bridge is 366 feet long, 57.5 feet tall, the only one of its type to cross the James River. Owned by VDOT, the Swinging Bridge is a Historic Landmark. Portions of the large stone piers were constructed in 1851 for the Buchanan Turnpike Company’s Toll Bridge. Toll for every person was five cents with an additional five cents for each horse, mule Read more...
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Pearisburg has existed as a village since 1808. The historical district includes buildings from almost every period in the town’s development. The two most significant predate 1840. Pearisburg was listed in 1992 as a National Registry Community. Read more...
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The museum was the home of John Fox, Jr., a famous mountain author of many novels and short stories. Most well known are “Trail of the Lonesome Pine” and “The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come”. “Trail of the Lonesome Pine” became the nation’s first million copy selling novel and was later made into a movie. An outdoor drama based on Read more...
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Listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places, the Charlotte Court House Historic District is an excellent example of a 19th century rural courthouse town. A highlight of the district is the 1823 courthouse that was built from sketches drawn by Thomas Jefferson. Brochures featuring a self-guided walking tour, map, and history of the town and its architecture Read more...
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A visit to the Jeff Matthews Memorial Museum is a rewarding experience for adults, families and children of all ages. Among the treasures are the historic cabins dating back to 1834, Victorian fashions, over 10,000 Native American artifacts, a fascinating collection of African items, one of the largest Kodiak bears on display anywhere in the world, an extensive collection of Read more...
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Visitors along the Blue Ridge Parkway often overlook the fact that the landscape they are traveling was occupied in earlier historic times. Little has survived the passage of time of the settlers and farmers who once called this home. However, several cemeteries along the route bear mute testimony to these early dwellers and their desendents. The thirty some miles of Read more...
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Radford University’s McConnell Library carries information on a wide range of subjects, including the Civil War. Read more...
ALBERTA IS BLOOMINGAlberta is centrally located in Brunswick County. Home to the beautiful Southside Virginia Community College with a 100 acre+ campus with a modern library facility available to the public. Alberta is home to the World Championship Brunswick Stew Cook-off. The Cook-off is held every year on the second Sat in October At SVCC Campus in Alberta. Many local Read more...
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The Historic Bassett Train Depot is a landmark in the community of Bassett, Virginia. Currently the depot hosts a weekly (seasonal) Community Market on Thursdays but back in the day, it was a fully functioning passenger station. The iconic depot stands as a gathering spot for the community and hosts numerous community events throughout the year such as craft show and Read more...
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Built soon after the Civil War in Italianate villa style by Col. William E. Sims, the house was opened as bed-and-breakfast in 1975 by Henry and Patricia Mitchell. It has more than enough room, five rooms including a ballroom and 11 fireplaces. The Mitchells restored it with profound respect for its construction, including brick kilned on the place, shiplap siding, Read more...
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JOHN WADDEY CARTER HOUSE- “The Grey Lady” | Circa 1896 “This beautiful Queen Ann residence was built in 1896 by John W. Carter as a wedding present for his young bride, Miss Mary Kizziah Drewery, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Henry M. Drewry. Referred to as ‘The Grey Lady’, the dwelling is a textbook example of the Queen Anne Read more...
1769 Old Chapel Church in Penhook is one of only four pre-Revolutionary War frame Anglican churches in Virginia. Built in 1769, it is the oldest documented frame structure in Southwest Virginia. The one-story, 249 year old church has been preserved and completely restored to its 18th Century appearance. The white 24 by 32 foot building with five windows and plank Read more...
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History and tradition abound in Bristol, VA/TN, a truly unique twin-city. In 1881, both sides of Bristol designated the center of the city’s main thoroughfare, State Street, as the Tennessee/Virginia state line. Today, Bristol’s Historic Downtown District, also known as State Street, features specialty gift shops, art galleries, cafes, restaurants and antique shops, and a variety of theatre, street festivals, and live Read more...






























