Virginia designates 9 historic sites as state landmarks

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The Virginia Department of Historic resources has announces newly marked areas in nine Virginia counties and cities that are deemed historic.

These historic areas include Louisa, Mecklenburg, Fredericksburg, Halifax, Nelson, Charlottesville, Newport News, Staunton and Roanoke.

Along with the nine cities and counties listed in the Virginia Landmarks Register is a house designed by Herbert Fritz Jr. an architect and designer who was mentored by Frank Lloyd Wright.

The approval for the properties that were designated for the Virginia Landmarks Register (VLR), came from the Commonwealth's Board of historic Resources during their quarterly public meeting in Farmerville on June 12.

According to a press release, the VLR is the commonwealth's official list of places of historic, architectural, archaeological as well as, cultural significant, and at the end of the meeting the board approved the following places for listing in the VLR.

Louisa County: Cuckoo Elementary School

Built around 1925, Cuckoo Elementary School is a two room school house that served rural Black students from grades one through seven during the racial segregation era in Virginia public schools until its closure in 1955 due to a fire. The Cuckoo School is acknowledged as a landmark under the African American Schools in Virginia: A multiple Property Document.

Mecklenburg County: Park View High School

Stationed along Route 1 in Mecklenburg County, the now historic site Park View High School sits. The high school was built in 1955 during Jim Crow and served white students as part of a county wide school consolidation and equalization efforts against school integration efforts during the 50's and 60's.

City of Charlottesville: Stuart Gardens Apartments

Designed in 1962 by both Herbert Fritz Jr. and his apprentice Frank Lloyd Wright the Thomas and Alena Hammond House in Charlottesville was designed and inspired by the natural world. According the the DHR, the one story house is made out of wood and glass and embodies the characteristics of "Wrightian architecture" by incorporating open floor plans, a central hearth, cantilevered roof and organic materials that "blur the lines between interior and exterior spaces."

Newport News: Stuart Gardens Apartments

This building was build in 1941 in the Hampton Roads area and according to Former President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, sought to promote military preparedness during World War II. The Stuart Gardens Apartments are a large scale publicly financed housing complex built by the Defense Homes Corporation with funds from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. These apartments provided housing for both service members and civilian wartime production workers and their families during the war. The goal of this apartment building was to reflect the federal Housing Administration's requirements in provisions of quality housing.

Frederick County: Gravel Springs Farm

Located in southwest Frederic County, Gravel Springs Farm, centers on a house constructed in 1836. According to DHR, the vernacular structure of the house draws attention back to the Federal architectural style in that era in time. The farm also has five original out houses which seek to pay homage to the agrarian lifestyle.

City of Staunton: Fairview Cemetery

By two African American churches in Staunton, stands amongst the largest historically African American cemeteries in the commonwealth outside of Richmond city. Fairview Cemetery stands as only one of two documented African American cemeteries in the city. Fairview Cemetery has over 2,200 documented interments and an estimated 1,000 unmarked graves. The marked burials display the range of African American lifestyle in the south after the Civil War, while also capturing the eras of Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and Civil Rights.

Halifax County: Williamson Farm

Williamson farm was built in approximately 1910 and serves as the main house around two other historic structures that were built around 1840. The nine acre farm expanded to include a tobacco curing barn, chicken coop as well as other structures.

Nelson County: Shipman Historic District

Located at the intersection of Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks and James River Road, the Shipman Historic District in Nelson County developed as a transportation hub for the travel and shipment of goods to and from the south-central part of the county. The district was developed in the late 19th to 20th century, and grew from a depot known as the "Nelson Station," to a community with schools, churches, a post office, a cemetery, various businesses and residences.

City of Roanoke: Lucy Addison High School

In 1929, the first ever high school designed for Black students in the city of Roanoke opened due to racial segregation in within Virginia public schools at the time. Lucy Addison High School was constructed in 1928 and names after Lucy Addison, a Black educator. According to DHR, the school represents investments from city leaders in the education of local African American students and was coined as a standard in Virginia for its high school training programs it offered for the Black youth.

The board has approved a June meeting to update the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) registration forms of the properties listed above to accurately reflect these sites. As well as historic boundaries of properties as well as additional documentation on the historic resources located on those properties.