Living in Nelson County: Schuyler Named to VA Landmarks Register

Schuyler Named to VA Landmarks Register

31 Properties Named to Virginia Landmarks Register - Including Schuyler

RICHMOND, Va. –Virginia’s first six state parks and the historic village of Schuyler were among the 31 properties added to the Virginia Landmarks Register this month by the Department of Historic Resources.

The six state parks were developed during the 1930s in collaboration between the state and the federal government employing workers in the Civilian Conservation Corps to build cabins and develop recreation areas. The parks—Douthat in Allegheny and Bath counties; Fairy Stone in Patrick County; First Landing (Seashore) in Virginia Beach, Hungry Mother in Smyth County; Staunton River in Halifax, and Westmoreland in Westmoreland County—were all opened on June 15, 1936, creating the Virginia State Park system.

The Schuyler Historic District in Nelson County recognizes the historic period 1840, when a rural saw-milling community first arose in the area, through to the mid 1950s. Schuyler took shape as a village during the late 19th century with the growth of the county’s soapstone industry.

Schuyler’s growth was spurred by its location on the world’s largest soapstone vein and its proximity to the Rockfish River, which provided an affordable means for transporting the stone. Schuyler emerged by the early twentieth century as a typical company town, encompassing five distinct village neighborhoods concentrated around a central mill complex and related quarrying activities.

The town gained national attention in the 1970s because it was the boyhood home of Earl Hamner Jr., author of Spencer’s Mountain and creator of the popular television series The Waltons, which was clearly inspired by Hamner’s life growing up in Schuyler during the 1930s.

In addition to the properties above, the following properties or boundary increases also were added to the state register by the two advisory boards of the Department of Historic Resources. The properties are grouped by DHR’s regional district offices:

In the Capital (Richmond) Region:
•   The Aviator (statue), Albemarle County
•   Brightly, Goochland County
•   Clarkton Bridge, Charlotte County
•   Edgewood, Amherst County
•   Elliott Grays Marker, City of Richmond
•   Fifth and Main Historic District, City of Richmond
•   Finance Building, City of Richmond
•   Nance-Major House and Store Complex, Charles City County
•   Oak Lawn, Amherst County
•   Schuyler Historic District, Nelson County
•   Somerset, Powhatan County
•   Tyro Mill, Nelson County

In the Roanoke Region:
•   East Church Street/Starling Avenue Historic District, City of Martinsville
•   First Baptist Church, City of Lexington
•   Hickory Hill, Rockbridge County
•   Kelly View School, Wise County
•   Kentland Archaeology Amendment, Montgomery County
•   Roanoke Apartments (Terrace Apartments), City of Roanoke
•   R.L. Stone House, Town of Bassett, Henry County

In the Tidewater (Newport News) Region:
•   The King William Training School, King William County

In the Winchester Region:
•   Belle Grove, Fauquier County
•   Blue Ridge Farm, Fauquier County
•   Claremont HD, Arlington County
•   Crumley-Lynn-Lodge House, Frederick County
•   Graves Mill, Madison County
•   Meadow Grove, Rappahannock County
•   Rose Cliff, City of Waynesboro

The Department of Historic Resources will now nominate these properties to the National Register of Historic Places, which is managed by the National Park Service.

Photographs and detailed information about each of the properties is available on the DHR website at (http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/homepage_features/board_activities.htm).

Listing a VLR places no restrictions on property owners, although the recognition allows owners to receive technical assistance from the DHR or pursue state and federal rehabilitation tax-credit incentives and programs. Listing on the state and national registers has spurred economic revitalization efforts in many historic districts throughout the state.

For a property or resource to be VLR-listed, it must meet important historic criteria. It can do so through association with significant historical events or persons, or through possession of outstanding archaeological or architectural features.
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