{"nrhp_refnum":"03000562","name":"Centreville-Fentress Historic District","other_names":["Centre Hill"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Fentress Rd., Centerville Tnpk., Blue Ridge Rd., Whittamore Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chesapeake","county":"Chesapeake","state":"VA","lat":36.69579824650006,"lon":-76.17276556303293,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2003-06-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 257-acre rural crossroads district in the City of Chesapeake, Virginia, centered where Fentress Road, Centerville Turnpike and Blue Ridge Road meet. It includes farmhouses, a brick Baptist church, a country store and railroad-related features, mostly dating from the 1870s to the 1940s.","why_significant":"The district is significant under Criteria A and C for Transportation and Community Planning and Development. A road link to the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal and the arrival of the railroad in 1881 turned a farming area into a commercial crossroads community for local truck farmers. It is one of the few remaining rural railroad towns in the former Norfolk County.","narrative":"Centreville-Fentress is a rural crossroads community in Chesapeake, Virginia, spread over 257 acres. It formed where Fentress Road, the old Great Road between Norfolk and Elizabeth City, North Carolina, met Centerville Turnpike and Blue Ridge Road. The turnpike, created in 1878, carried farm produce to docks on the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal, and a railroad station opened in 1881. Local truck farmers used these routes to reach distant markets. Land sales near the junction supported a small commercial core, a Baptist church and a growing number of houses. Most buildings are modest frame dwellings with Colonial Revival, Queen Anne and Craftsman details, along with a few mid-19th-century farmhouses, a monumental 1920s brick church and a frame country store. Passenger rail service ended in 1932 and the station was demolished in 1940. The district contains 34 contributing resources and is significant for transportation and community development between 1871 and 1940.","period_of_significance":"1871-1940","architect_builder":"John S. King, General Contractor","architectural_style":"Mid-19th Century; Colonial Revival, Queen Anne; Bungalow/Craftsman; Modern Movement","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Most buildings remain in use as dwellings, with a church, a country store and farm outbuildings. The railroad station was demolished in 1940, and newer housing and a golf course now border the district.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:02.898367-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/33/6801/41680133/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/03000562.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000562/ece62eb44a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000562/ece62eb44a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Tere Rottink","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Corner_of_Fentress_and_Blue_Ridge.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Tere Rottink</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Corner_of_Fentress_and_Blue_Ridge.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41680133","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centreville%E2%80%93Fentress_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15208523"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/chesapeake/centreville-fentress-historic-district-03000562/"}